Feel
by Maiden A
Summary: Naruto has been content to just be friends with Sakura, but when an opportunity presents itself for him to change her perspective of him he takes it. Sakura doesn't know how to react so he tells her to not over think it for once-but just...feel. Sakura never imagined taking advice from the number one unpredictable ninja could lead to this.
1. Chapter 1

**IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**In most of my stories it will not be caught up in canon. I haven't read beyond the Pein arc so most of my stories will deal with the Pein period onward. This will only be mentioned at the beginning of all my stories as a fair warning to people who prefer canon situations. Most of the Naruto/Sakura stories I've read have been really close to canon, so I just wanted to caution those who want canon. For everyone else, please enjoy ^_^**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine. If it was it'd be a romantic comedy.**

**CHAPTER ONE**

Sakura leaned back on the tree from the branch she was perched on. She glanced at Naruto who was sprawled lazily on the grass.

"What's taking Sasuke so long? He said he would meet up with us today," Naruto complained.

Sakura sighed in exasperation. "How am I supposed to know, something probably came up. He knows that every Wednesday we're not on a mission we're supposed to meet up," she announced and swung her legs around on the branch. "I have to be at work in two hours. One of the medics is sick." Sakura was a medical ninja and also on staff at the hospital as a doctor.

Naruto looked up at Sakura and his heart skipped a beat as always when he looked at her. At 19 she was more beautiful than ever. Her silky pale pink tresses brushed only a few inches under her shoulder, and her luminous spring green eyes sparked with cheerfulness and intelligence. She was petite, and was lithe with slight curves. Today she wore snug black pants and a red tank top that didn't quite meet the top of her pants, and exposed her flat stomach whenever she moved her arms.

At the moment though her face was livid with irritation and thankfully this time it was for Sasuke. He knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of her temper and was glad he was on her good side today.

"Do you want to go fetch him," he asked jovially, but then she turned her glare on him.

"No, I'm not chasing after him like some dog," she muttered. After several years of pining for his love with no success, when she finally turned 17 she had gotten over Sasuke and realized that it would never be, but no one believed it. Least of all him! So she did nothing that would encourage that notion.

Naruto struggled not to grin, he knew that was a bad choice of words and that she was over Sasuke, because no one knew Sakura like he did. Since he was twelve his crush had matured into something more and then eventually into love. It was sad, he was one stepping stone away from obsession if he wasn't already. As her teammate he knew everything about her. Things no one one else would probably pay attention to- his train of thought was cut off when she hopped down and started walking.

"W-Wait, Sakura. Where are you going," he called out.

She turned back to him. "It's been over an hour, I'm not waiting anymore. I have other things to do than wait for him."

Over all these years Naruto never made a serious attempt at Sakura. He knew it would only be met with annoyance since she was still mooning over Sasuke. But for some reason today, today he wanted to make that change.

"Why don't we do something together, it is Wednesday," he pointed out.

Sakura looked unsure. "I guess, but it'll have to be local."

"We can just go eat at my house," he suggested. But that wasn't a casual suggestion. He wasn't nervous or timid over anything, he had been waiting patiently for the right time to make his move, and an opportunity had presented itself.

Sakura shrugged. "Fine. But are you sure you even have food Naruto," she asked pointedly.

He smiled sheepishly and scratched his head. "Of course. You went shopping for me last week." Sakura took care of him, and he didn't get the wrong misconception of her being like a mother. Far from it.

She smiled back, "That doesn't mean anything. You and Sasuke both run through food." He struggled not to scowl at the mention of Sasuke, she took care of him too, but he didn't want to be reminded of it.

"We can quickly go pick up something," he said._ 'And hopefully we don't run into Sasuke because that would ruin everything.'_

"Okay, I don't know what you'd do without me Naruto."

He beamed, "Thats just what I was thinking." _'Liar,'_ he thought to himself. He walked until he stood next to Sakura and threw one arm around her shoulders. "I'm excited, let's go," he exclaimed squeezing her to him. He wanted her get used to him touching her, and planned to take advantage at every situation.

Sakura tensed a little when Naruto put his arm around her shoulder but she didn't move. He was probably just over excited about the prospect of eating.

She didn't let Sasuke's stand up affect her. There was no reason she couldn't just hang out with Naruto. They had been together plenty of times alone, just never deliberately. What was she making a big deal out of anyways? She was only going to eat at Naruto's, and probably do the cooking too.

But she didn't mind cooking for him, because he had never had anyone else do it for him. And he was one of her best friends so she always made sure he could count on her. In the past she had always counted on him, for protection, support, and even just being a friend when she really needed it, without really being aware of it. When she realized how valuable he was to her, she promised herself that she would always make up for the ways she had taken him for granted.

While they were selecting the 'dreaded' vegetables Sakura turned to look at Naruto. He had surprised everyone and had grew so amazingly tall. He was now about 3 inches over 6 feet, towering over her 5'3" frame. He wore his blonde hair the same, and his eyes were a mesmerizing blue. Over the years the sadness and bitterness had faded. Growing closer to him she had begun to notice the little things about him that weren't obvious to all. And eventually his eyes had become a true reflection of joy and happiness, and not just what he wanted everyone to see.

She smiled up at him and was surprised at the intensity of his gaze on her, but then it was gone so quickly she was sure she had imagined it. Gesturing to the food they had collected she asked, "Are you ready? I think we have enough to last another week."

"All set," he responded and they went to pay for his purchases. As surprising as it may seem, Naruto was very good with money. He had to learn on his own about taking care of business. Sakura had nearly fainted when she learned about how much money he had collected since he was young. One day she had jokingly teased him that he could start and raise a clan of his of him with all that money. After her comment his facial expression turned serious, and he responded that he knew that. Then he changed it to an oddball, goofball subject that was equally his facade and legitimate stupidity.

Thinking back now Sakura reflected that maybe that was his intent, since he was so alone growing up. That would mean he would have to get married. An odd sensation pulsed through Sakura and she shook her head to clear her thoughts feeling slightly uncomfortable now. What was up with her today, and why was she suddenly thinking about that now?

After paying for his purchases they left for his house with her lecturing along the way about him not taking care of himself. Once there Sakura set everything up in his kitchen and just automatically began preparing the food. Once it was all on the stove she started to put the seasonings in the cabinet when she felt Naruto's presence directly behind her before she saw his shadow grace the counter. She turned around and was frozen into shock when he put one arm on each side of her body and effectively trapped her in.

She looked up quickly at his face and saw that his eyes were like a dark turbulent storm just before he closed them and pressed his lips to hers!

**AN: If this story sounds familiar, it is! The original was unfinished and I'm writing under Maiden A now.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I won't do these too often, but it needs to be said. So I wrote this chapter a LOOOONG time ago. Meaning that there are parts I like, and parts I cringe at. I rewrote as much as I could but in my own personal opinion the quality of writing improves in a few chapters :-/ I mean a HUGE difference. Just being brutally honest on myself. But still enjoy. **

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to somebody else.

CHAPTER TWO

"Naruto," she managed to whisper when he kissed her, but she was cut off by the shock of sensations that went through her body. His mouth ravished her lips and she could only ride the waves that raced through her. She hesitantly raised her arms up and around his neck and then he wrapped his arms behind her and pulled her closer against his body.

Naruto was in bliss. He was tasting heaven and she wasn't fighting back put responding. He had always planned to catch her unawares but the joke was on him, he had never expected it to be such magic. He slipped his tongue in her mouth and he tasted her moan and she pushed herself closer to him. The kiss went on for several more moments until Naruto pulled back and placed his hands on the counter again.

Sakura was staring at him with a mixture of emotions on her face. Shock, pleasure, confusion. The sight of her swollen lips excited him, because he knew he had caused that.

Breathing heavily, Sakura lowered her arms until they rested on his forearms. She didn't know what to say, she was at a lost for words. Naruto didn't say anything either, he just pulled her to him in a hug and they stayed like that for a moment.

Finally Naruto said, "Sakura, I love you. I've always loved you, since the day we became teammates at twelve."

She pulled back to look at him, now all she had on her expression was confusion. "Since we were twelve. I-I knew you had a crush on me then, but- but all these years.," she trailed off.

He raised one of his hands up to rest on her cheek and smiled down at her. "You were in love with Sasuke, and I loved you so much I wasn't going to stop you. I just wanted you to be happy, and I waited until I finally knew you were over him."

Sakura gave a feeble smile, "You're the only one that believes me."

"I hope I'm the only one that matters," he surprised her by boldly saying.

She still looked a little uncertain, "I don't know," she whisphered. "You-this I never thought of this possibility." He felt a pang of hurt at that but he knew she was only being honest. "But...its all so sudden I can't possibly say anything now," she said frantically. "I-mean...I-I-mean." She was still at a loss for words. It _did_ just come out of nowhere. Nowhere on her daily agenda she followed listed _'be kissed by Naruto, and like it.'_

Naruto looked at some point over her shoulder and furrowed his brow in thought. Than just as soon as it appeared it smoothed out and he nodded slowly and looked back down at her. "I'll accept that for now, Sakura. But," he grinned, "until you can give me an answer all you have to do is feel." And then he kissed her again, quite senseless and completely wiped any remaining fragments of thoughts she managed to make in her mind all over again.

He stepped back and she quickly moved over to the stove, more than slightly flustered. "We don't want the vegetables to stick to the pan," she muttered.

Naruto grinned and walked out. "I'll put on a movie. We can watch it until your shift starts," he called out.

After turning off the food Sakura stared into empty space. She still couldn't process what had happened. Naruto had kissed her and she had enjoyed it immensely. She...wanted him to kiss her again! She had never seen him like that before, so masculine, so real, so raw. She wanted to push him against the couch and show him who was in control!

_'Whoa, now where had that thought came from,' _she thought. How did she feel about Naruto? She felt affection for him, she loved him as her best friend. But the way she responed to him tonight had to mean she felt something more from him, because she wouldn't just respond to anyone like that._ 'But he sure did know how to kiss, so he must have had a lot of practice.'_ At that thought she was amazed to feet a spurt of jealously. She couldn't be jealous, because that would mean she actually had romantic feelings for him. Did she?

All those thoughts were confusing her, so she should just take his advice and just feel. With that decisive thought she made her way to him. He was sitting on his couch waiting for her, wearing his normal cheerful expression as if nothing had happened. She would wipe that look off his face. She moved until she stood directly in front of him. She braced her arms on his shoulders and said, "I don't know what to think right now, and I don't want when I'll be able to make sense of this. So I'm going to do something I rarely do, Naruto. I'm going to take your advice, and just...feel."

She moved in and lowered her face until her lips were on his and then he suddenly pulled her onto his lap. She kissed him passionately and slipped her hands under his shirt to touch his bare skin. Naruto's mouth trailed down her throat until his lips rested where he could feel her heartbeat. She moaned when his tongue flicked her skin and she positioned her legs so they were wrapped around his waist.

He reached down to slide his hands under her shirt to trail his hands up her sides and let them stop at the bottom of her bra. His finger traced the the edge of her bra until he felt the clasped and he stopped. He pulled back to look at her flushed face. "You're so beautiful Sakura," he murmured.

Sakura heart lurched, he was starting to make her feel and more than in the physical sense. But then his fingers moved over the hooks on the back of her bra and she focused back on him. She thought he was going to take off her bra but then he surprised her. He moved his lips back to hers and kissed her gently. So softly that it filled her with a pleasant warmth.

"I can't help but say it Sakura, but I love you." He leaned back into the couch. " Because of that I can't go any further until I know you're sure." He brought his hand to her mouth when she started to protest. "No, I don't want to take the chance of hurting you."

Sakura just looked at him for a moment and she leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on his mouth. "Okay," she said simply. But she had a feeling, a very scary feeling, that if she was faced her emotions truthfully she'd get an answer soon.

"I should get going now. I already made you dinner, so you're set for tonight. I'll just eat something at the hospital so don't worry."

She slid off his lap and adjusted her clothes. Oddly she felt comfortable enough around Naruto to do it and not feel embarrassed by it. She grabbed her bag next to the couch with all her equipment and announced, "I guess I'll go now." She looked at him unsure of what to do next.

Naruto stared back and shook his head, "I want to get up and walk you out. But I don't trust myself right now. You may make it to the door, but I don't know about work."

Sakura was shocked and blushed red at that. This Naruto would take some getting used to. "I'll see you later Naruto." Then with one final small smile she left.

With a sigh Naruto collapsed against the couch cushions. He certainly did not expect his day to turn out like this. He should go and try to find Sasuke, he chuckled to himself, he should probably thank him for his timely absence.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

After her shift at the hospital Sakura was exhausted but she wanted to talk to her best friend Ino. They were still rivals but only in the way best friends could be. They had long ago stopped competing over Sasuke. Afterall the main obstacle to their friendship was their love of Sasuke, but when they came to their senses and realized that he didn't want _either_ of them, their competition stopped, well at least in love. But even though they both stopped stopped chasing after Sasauke, between the two of them Ino was the only one the village believed was actually over Sasuke since she actually dated other people, _several _other people in fact. And since Sakura was the oh so lucky recipient of all the tales and details of Ino's romantic encounters she figured it was fair of her to tell Ino about what was developing with Naruto.

She caught sight of Ino at the florist shop just as she was walking out. "Ino," she called out waving at her to get her attention, but she must not have heard her because she kept on walking.

"Ino," she called out again louder, but the girl only walked faster and turned down a narrow passageway between two buildings. Sakura was bewildered as to why Ino would be avoiding her. They haven't got into any arguments, big ones at least she admitted honestly. So of course she followed her and ran until she could catch up to her still calling Ino's name.

When they reached another main path Ino suddenly stopped and turned around and yelled, "Can't you use your big head right now and figure out that I don't want to be bothered right now?" She looked down at the ground and sighed.

Sakura immediately went up to her, "Ino, whats wrong," she asked her in apprehension, and put a hand on Ino's arm.

Ino shook her head and managed a smile, "Nothing, its no big deal. What were you being so frantic about when you called me," she asked changing the subject.

Sakura was tempted to press her but when Ino didn't want to talk about something she remained uncharacteristically tight-lipped about it. So instead she started to tell her about Naruto's actions today quickly. After she was done she looked around wildly to make sure no prying civilians or ninjas were being nosy.

When she checked that it was all clear she asked Ino, "Ino, I don't know what I should do. Can I really have feelings for Naruto this fast? I mean just the other day I wasn't feeling this way about him. I've been over Sasuke for years, but never once did I think of Naruto that way."

"When you realized you liked Sasuke it was instant right," Ino asked.

"Yes," Sakura answered, "But what does that have to do with this?"

"So why are you questioning why you like Naruto all of a sudden? A lot of times people are attracted to someone else but don't realize it until the other person made the first move or just did something that opened your eyes to them." Having the ability to go into other people psyches helped Ino to gain insights you wouldn't think the bubbly blonde would have, at least when it came to relationships.

Ino continued, "Don't question why you feel this way now. You wouldn't have kissed him back and let it go that far if you didn't at least like him. At least you know how Naruto feels about you..." her voice trailed off and she looked away from Sakura.

Sakura couldn't let whatever was bothering Ino remain unsaid. "Ino, you're going to tell me what's wrong right now. Whats going on with you?"

Ino waited a moment before responding and then she blurted out, "I think I'm pregnant!"

"What?" Sakura shrieked. It was early evening so only a few people were out but they still got some curious stares. Sakura lowered her voice and leaned in closer, "What do you mean you think you're pregnant? I didn't even know you were with someone."

"I'm not like you Sakura, I don't have someone in love with me. I'm on the other side of your situation, _I'm_ the one who's in love with the oblivious person." She wrapped her arms around her middle. "Its easy to sleep with someone you don't love, but with him I just lost all thought and reasoning. It never crossed my mind to protect myself."

"Who was it," Sakura asked gently.

"Shikamaru," Ino whispered back. "A-and I think it was just a one-night stand for him. He never brought it back up again after that night three weeks ago."

"Have you gone to Tsunade?"

"No, not yet." Ino hesitated, "I'm too scared to." She started walking in the direction of her house and Sakura followed.

They walked in silence for several minutes until Sakura spoke up, "Do you want me to...you know, check for you," she asked uncertainly. Ino nodded and Sakura added, "We can go to my place if you want to have privacy from your parents." Without waiting for a response she grabbed Ino's hand and dragged her to her house.

* * *

Naruto was leaning against the front of Sasuke's house waiting for him to return home and when Sasuke turned into his compound and headed for the main house he stiffened when he saw Naruto but continued on in.

Naruto waited until Sasuke stood right beside him when he asked, "Sooo where were you today?"

"Are you questioning me," Sasuke snapped.

"I'm just looking out for you," Naruto replied.

"I don't need you to. I can't take a step without either you or Sakura on my trail," he complained.

Naruto then grinned, "I'm not here to get on your case today. I'm actually here to thank you," he told him.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him, "What for?" He didn't trust it when Naruto got that particular grin, it usually involved something he didn't want to get involved in.

"Oh, don't worry about it. I just wanted to tell you thanks," Naruto exclaimed and slapped Sasuke on the back.

Sasuke looked behind his back suspiciously, "Did you put a bomb scroll on me," he asked. Naruto still had that silly grin on his face.

"Would I do something like that to my best friend?" When Sasuke shot him a pointed look he laughed sheepishly and added, "Well I didn't do anything like that." Then he suddenly turned serious. "Now why don't you tell me about where you've been disappearing to on the days we're supposed to meet each other, and I don't want to hear any lame excuses."

Sasuke didn't break eye contact with Naruto for several seconds and without a word he walked into his house and left his door open for Naruto to follow.

* * *

Sakura was about done with the pregnancy check procedure when she asked a quiet Ino, "Is a baby something you want? When I send my chakra threw the channel I created I'm going to get my answer."

Ino looked torn. "I don't know-I really don't know. I love Shikamaru, Sakura, but I don't think I'm ready to have his baby just yet. I don't even know how he feels about me, but I do know if I am pregnant I am going to keep my baby." She closed her eyes, "So just hurry up and do it before I lose my nerve."

Sakura struggled not to smile. "It doesn't matter if you lose your nerve Ino, if you are pregnant you're going to get your answer in under nine months."

Ino gave a feeble smile. "I guess so," she murmured, "so its best if I find out now." Sakura released her chakra into Ino's womb where it be able to detect the faint chakra of a fetus at least two weeks old.

She immediately got her answer and she pulled back. Ino looked at her expectantly and Sakura quickly eased her mind, "You're not pregnant," she informed her. "You've just been eating too many lunches with Chouji."

Ino let out an abrupt laugh that turned into a sob. Sakura grew alarmed and she held her friend's arms. "Are you okay? I thought you'd be relieved you weren't pregnant." When Ino kept sniffling Sakura knew. "Did you want to have his baby," she mirrored her earlier words.

The blonde shook her head. "No-I don't know why I'm crying. I should be relieved, but I'm also sad too. I've been worried for three weeks that I could be pregnant, and I was trying to get used to that fact. To find out I'm not is kind of a shock too."

"You told me not to question my feelings for Naruto, so I'm going to give you some advice too," Sakura started. "Tell Shikamaru how you feel and just give him a kiss, only a kiss," she clarified. "I don't know if it'll work for him since he's a guy but it sure worked for me."

"I guess I can take my own advice for once," Ino stated. She reached out and grabbed Sakura in a hug, "Thanks for helping me Sakura. I couldn't have gone to the Hokage for this, I would have left feeling like a fool and her teasing."

"I wouldn't be your best friend if I didn't," Sakura said and returned the hug. "I feel like crashing now, its been such a long day with all that's been happening."

"I might as well spend the night," Ino invited herself.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Yes you're quite welcome to stay here," she said sarcastically. She went to sit on the edge of her bed. "We should invite Hinata and Ten-Ten and have it be an all girls night."

"No, just us. This way I can give you all the details about me and Shika and you can tell me what you plan to do with Naruto," Ino said suggestively.

"Whatever," Sakura responded and threw a pillow at Ino that landed square on her face.

Shocked Ino quickly went to retaliate and they started a typical kunoichi pillow fight. Which meant in the morning Sakura would need new pillows and would have to sweep up the ashes from all the fires.

* * *

"You've been investigating this all on your own," Naruto asked in a low voice, "and Tsunade allowed this?"

"She assigned me to investigate an uprising some villages away and that's where I stumbled upon it. Once I gathered enough information she gave me clearance and she wants us to go and eliminate them since we're most familiar with it," Sasuke informed him.

"When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow evening," Sasuke responded.

"Were you even going to tell me, or were you planning to try and do this mission yourself," Naruto asked. When Sasuke didn't answer he swung his fist and connected it with Sasuke's face.

"You bastard," he exclaimed as he punched him. Sasuke didn't do anything just stood there with the blood on his lip and Naruto continued. "You think you can fight everyone on your own. You haven't learned anything after all these years," he said in disgust. "Me and Kakashi will be waiting for you before dawn, you will see us," he said and turned to walk out.

When Naruto walked out Sasuke touched a lip to his mouth, he couldn't even get angry with Naruto because he was right. After all that he had managed to build up again, it was coming down again. He hated having to admit or even face the fact that even if he didn't want or need Naruto there, he would come. Naruto proved that again and again with his actions over the years even when vengeance was the only feeling and emotion that pulsed in Sasuke's blood. And in the end Naruto had even understood that he had to kill Itachi with his own hands.

But it hadn't been the cure-all he thought it would be. His past would always haunt him, but he managed to live with it. What he couldn't tolerate was a new arising of the Akatsuki, All of them were supposed to be the situation his clan was in, dead and no chance of coming back. But they were trying to start up again and if he had to take them apart with his bare hands and even his life he would get the job done.

Outside the Uchiha compound Naruto was making a promise to himself. He made a promise to Sakura years ago that he would bring Sasuke back, and then later that he would always watch out for him. But tonight he had to make a new promise. To bring himself back to Sakura and what he hoped was a new beginning for them.

**AN: I don't want to spoil the series but even before the Itachi development, he was a favorite character of mine and I suspected (more like dreamed) of what we later found out. But for this Sasuke to work, it has to be this way :( **

**Also...I know Sasuke probably lives in an apartment, but this Sasuke apparently wanted to live in the Uchiha compound...figures. My characters never obey me :-/**


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

The next day at the hospital was so hectic it wasn't until around evening time did Sakura get a chance to see Naruto._ 'I should go surprise him with a visit,' _she thought with a smile, and made her way to his place. She ran up the two flights of stairs to his apartment, and without bothering to knock walked in.

When she walked in she was greeted to the sight of Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi all standing around with somber looks on their faces. Smiling tentatively she asked, "Whats going on, and why wasn't I invited?" she asked curious.

Expecting to get a joke or even a brush-off of her inquiries, she was surprised when Naruto stepped forward and said, "There's something we need to tell you, Sakura."

Sakura grew alarmed. "What's wrong? Is everyone okay?" She made a move as if she was about to check them for injuries or some type of damage when Naruto grabbed her arm. She looked up into his blue eyes that were uncharacteristicly serious.

"We're going on a—," Sasuke began but Naruto cut him off.

"No, I'll tell her," he said not breaking eye contact with her. He almost didn't want to say it with the way her beautiful green eyes were looking up at him expectantly. He wish he could make up something, or had something good for her to hear, but he had to tell her the truth. "We're going on a mission to prevent a new Akatsuki uprising and we can't get into any more detail." They all knew that since she worked so closely to the Hokage she knew about most of the classified information, but this was more sensitive and they left it up to Tsuande on how much she would tell Sakura.

Sakura gasped and raised a hand to her mouth. "Y-you can't mean it! Our home is finally at peace and they're trying to take that away from us again?" They had lost so many friends in the war, the closest of them being Kiba and Shino, with Hinata wounded to the point she could never fight again. So many comrades...and all because of the Akatsuki.

"How can that be?" she asked. "They weren't supposed to come back! They did enough," she murmured brokenly.

Sasuke snorted and he shot her a disdainful look. "After all this time you'd think you would know by now. We are shinobi," he intoned. "We can't expect for life to be peachy, no matter how perfect you think your village is," he added cynically.

"Isn't Konoha your home too?" Naruto looked up at Sasuke and asked in a low tone. Sasuke just looked away and stuffed his hands in his pockets. Naruto turned back to Sakura, "You're both right in your own way. They have done enough and if we did the job right the first time we wouldn't have to be dealing with the Akatsuki now. But," he added, "We could be dealing with someone else. What matters now is that we get this taken care of."

"What happens after that?" Sakura asked wrapping her arms around herself for comfort.

"We come back," Naruto answered his eyes darkening.

Sakura smiled up at him. "When did you become so wise?"

His lips twisted in a secret smile and then he just grinned and scratched the back of his head. "Oh, I don't know. I think the future Hokage should be wise after all," he declared and laughed.

She rolled her eyes at him, but she didn't miss his point. Sure he bragged and _was _really stupid sometimes, but occasionally the smarter side of him would show. And she knew he intentionally hid how intelligent he was, so that meant there was another layer under the Naruto she knew all these years. Grinning to herself, she hoped to get to truly know every part of him one day.

So the others couldn't see where her thoughts were she focused her attention back on them. "So when do you leave?"

This time Naruto didn't have to fake his sheepishness as he rubbed his chin, "Well...See—"

"When do you leave," she repeated more loudly this time. They all cringed, they did not like an angry Sakura, so Kakashi and Sasuke turned to Naruto since he seemed so eager to be the one to talk to her earlier.

Sighing Naruto continued, "In a few minutes," he answered.

Sakura balled a fist into her eyes. "I can't believe this. You're going on a dangerous mission and you weren't even going to tell me," she asked mirroring Naruto's words from the day before, which unknown to her was not lost on him.

"We were going to tell you," he said reaching for her, but she moved out of his grasp. "We were busy planning today and we decided to tell you on our way out but you beat us to it."

"Whatever," Sakura cried. "How am I supposed to find any comfort in that? You didn't give me any time to prepare myself on your departure," she said pointing at herself. "And if you all come back near dead I won't lay a healing finger on your body!"

They knew she was going to take this bad and they all regretted this moment. She was so overprotective of them, they were elite shinobi, for goodness sakes! Did they need her permission to go on missions? Apparently she thought so because she spun around and walked out of Naruto's house.

Sasuke just shrugged. "She'll have time to get over it. Lets go," he said.

Naruto stared after her, he couldn't leave her with her feeling like that, he had to do something. "No, wait a moment," he told them. "I'll be back in a minute." Then he walked to his door to follow her.

"Hmm," was all he heard behind him. He looked behind him to see Kakashi's eye twinkling at him in amusement. Naruto's eye twitched.

"What's so funny," he asked.

Kakashi looked even more amused. "Hmm, nothing. Don't waste too much time, we do have a big mission, you know?" Naruto scowled at him, that bastard Kakashi always knew how he felt about Sakura, but how could he tell that something was different now?

Sasuke shook his head. "Naruto and Sakura have that in common, they both don't know when to give up." Naruto knew he was talking about how he relentlessly loved Sakura when she obviously didn't love him back, since she was too busy in love with Sasuke. But Sasuke was too full of himself to realize that Sakura didn't care anymore, he just took for granted she always would. And right now Naruto wanted to go remind Sakura of something.

"I'll meet you in five minutes," he informed them and fled after Sakura. In no time he had caught up to her, she was headed in the way her best friend Ino's florist shop was. She was stomping so hard she actually left footprints in the ground behind her.

Cautious he called out when he was a few feet behind her, "Uh—Sakura?" After just a slight hesitation she stopped and turned to face him. His heart skipped when he saw the sadness in her eyes and he ran up to her.

"Sakura, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. Sasuke didn't even tell me until last night and I truly was going to tell you," he implored her to believe him. He touched a hand to her shoulder and she didn't pull back, instead her eyes closed.

He had to lean in to hear what she whispered, "I know Naruto—its just...why so soon?" He knew what she meant and pulled her into one of the side street areas like the one she had followed Ino into. He moved them against a wall for some privacy and pulled her into his arms.

"Sakura...don't worry," he told her. "I'll be back, and I'll keep my promises as always."

She looked up at him with wide eyes of spring and smiled softly. She believed him; since they were twelve Naruto always kept his word. She raised her hands up to shoulders and he moved one hand to rest on her hip and the other to cup the back of her neck. His eyes darkened to the colors of a raging sea as he lowered his lips to hers.

Her breath exhaled on a sigh and she pressed herself closer to his body. He deepened the kiss and his mouth moved over hers like a man starved, and he was. Starved for years for her touch, starved for her kiss, and desperately yearned for her love. He pulled back and murmured, "I love you." She opened her eyes and looked up at him with glassy eyes and ran a hand up to his hair.

"Don't stop," she ordered, and pulled his head back down, but this time she didn't close her eyes. As he kissed her she let him read in her eyes whatever she felt. She couldn't put it in word or thought yet, but perhaps she could show him. Whatever he saw must have made him happy because he pushed her more firmly against the building.

Sakura gasped when she felt him push a leg between hers and she arched into him her eyes closing. He ravaged her mouth and pushed his tongue inside to taste her. He groaned and pushed onto her as if he was trying to make their bodies into one. He moved his hands up her sides and cupped her breasts firmly and she gasped and her eyes flung open. This was so much different from their other kisses.

He must have realized it because he stumbled back from her, and rasped out, "Go—I—I need to get going." He turned around and placed his hands on his hips and took several deep breaths to calm down. "What are you waiting for?" he asked harsher than he meant to.

Sakura's heart melted over him, she now knew she needed one more thing before he left. "Come here, Naruto," she crooned curling her fingers toward her when he turned around. As if he were mesmerized he complied and she reached for his head again, but this time she placed it near her neck.

"Make me yours, Naruto," she said softly. The predator in him rose and he was overcome with the need to mark his territory, his woman. He pressed his hands to the small of her back and pressed her close to his body and breathed in the scent of her skin, memorizing it. Her arms wrapped around him as he pulled the skin to his lips and suckled. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and her knees felt weak but he held her up. Instead of pulling back when he was done he found another spot and suckled there and caused Sakura to moan softly.

He moved his lips up to spot just under her ear, where clothes couldn't hide it and laid claim to it. When she became a puddle in his arms he pulled back and stated, "Now you're mine." He pressed one more soft kiss on her lips and vanished in a puff of smoke.

She collasped to the ground with her back pressed against the wall. That had been...intense. She smiled. _I can't wait 'till he gets back.' _She had no doubt he would return.

* * *

They were fifteen minutes into the mission walking leisurely while they were talking strategy when Kakashi asked Naruto out of the blue:

"So what happened to the five minutes, you were gone for nearly fifteen. Surely she wasn't that heartbroken about us leaving, if so we should have sent Sasuke," Kakashi commented.

Naruto looked at Kakashi suspiciously, he was purposely starting trouble. Ever since they stopped being his charges he did his best to make their lives more miserable than he had when he was their sensei.

"I don't have the time to coddle Sakura," Sasuke stated and Naruto gritted his teeth.

"Who says she wants you to coddle her," he asked irritably. Kakashi sure knew how to ruin a good day.

Sasuke looked at him oddly. "What?"

"I said who says she wants you to coddle her," he muttered in reply. "She doesn't have feelings for you anymore so don't worry about her anymore. Well its not like you ever did in the first place, so you don't need to start now," he pointed out.

Sasuke was looking at him as if he had grown another head. "Whats wrong with you?"

Naruto glared at him and averted his gaze. "Nothing, so back off." _'Sakura is mine,' _he thought to himself.

Shaking his head Sasuke looked over at Kakashi who was grinning so hard you could see it through his mask. "Whats going on," he asked in annoyance. He hated being left out of anything.

"I don't know, I just have a feeling Naruto is feeling a little Sakura-sick already," Kakashi said chuckling at his own bad joke. Naruto huffed and just walked ahead of them leaving one amused and one confused ninja behind.

"What do you mean by that," Sasuke asked.

"You mean you don't know? I thought you were a genius," Kakashi said cryptically. "Haven't seen much of Sakura lately have you, huh," was all he said before he moved up to where Naruto was storming off at.

Sasuke stood there wondering what Kakashi meant by that, and he thought back to the events of today. Sakura wasn't clinging to him, looking to him, and asking him questions. She didn't stare up at him today as if whatever he told her was all the answers to the universe. She didn't have a fit because he didn't tell her where they were going. No none of it was directed at him; it was for...Naruto. He stared at the back of Naruto's form, since when had Sakura's affection shifted?

What had Naruto just said—_"She doesn't have feelings for you anymore so don't worry about her anymore. Well its not like you ever did in the first place, so you don't need to start now."_- He dismissed those thoughts from his head, he would dwell on them when he returned, there was no time for them now. He caught up with Naruto and walked next to him for a few minutes.

After a while Sasuke finally spoke and stated simply, "We'll leave everything in Konoha in Konoha."

Naruto grinned good-naturedly and placed his hands behind his head and walked along his best friend and former mentor. Maybe that worked for Sasuke, but the memory of Sakura's soft kiss would push him to come back safe and unharmed. She did say she wouldn't heal them if they got injured after all.

"Alright," he cried pumping his fist into the air, "Let's do this." And then they all shifted into high gear and were on their way.

**Original AN: About the kiss scene, don't worry it won't go further than that. I'm keeping it T rated :-) Which doesn't mean there won't be more kisses ;-)**

**Edit to AN: *I literally facepalmed when I reread tha kiss scene...seriously. But I couldn't change it xD**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: From this chapter onward my lovely beta Coshie is beta-ing for me. I really didn't want to return to fan-fiction without her fine-tooth combing my works, so I'm so happy I found her again!**

******Also thanks to everyone who reviewed. They are REALLY a joy each and every one. And I smile (hopefully not in a creepy way xD ) every time I'm reading one. They really motivate me to write more. So enjoy!**

**CHAPTER FIVE**

After a few days, Sakura had finally recovered from the kisses she had received from Naruto and was able to go around Konoha without a silly grin on her face. Everyone was teasing and laughing at her because they thought she was mooning over Sasuke, and she wanted to scream at them so badly that she loved Naruto! But she restrained herself because she wasn't even sure if her feelings if her feelings went that deep yet and if she told anybody, it would be Naruto first.

She was walking to the Hokage's office with some important documents she needed Tsunade to fill out. When she reached the Hokage's door, she didn't even knock; she just walked in. She wasn't surprised by what she saw.

"Tsunade! You know you shouldn't be drinking so early in the morning," she admonished her mentor.

Tsunade scowled and said, "Don't talk to your Hokage that way! Besides it's never too early or too late to drink sake." She then grinned; her cheeks flushed pink.

"The last time I gave you some papers for a shipment, instead of getting the herbs I ordered, five cases of sake arrived. I won't give you these papers until you've sobered up," Sakura declared.

"Eh! Give me those papers," Tsunade ordered holding her hand out, "And in case you didn't know, that wasn't a screw-up; it was intentional."

Sakura reluctantly handed her the papers and turned to walk out when Tsunade stopped her with her next words.

"I received word from Kakashi's Team via messenger," she began and Sakura looked at her expectantly. "They have a general idea where the Akatsuki is now located and are about to prepare for assault. Once they quickly eliminate them, they are to immediately return home." Even though most A missions are classified, Tsunade kept Sakura informed even before she became a Jounin at seventeen.

Sakura's stomach knotted up in nervousness. "How many Akatsuki will they be expecting?"

"Four," Tsunade responded. "Not including the new leader. If they discover anymore members they are to either return or send a message for a second team. This isn't going to be a martyr or suicide mission."

"That's a relief," Sakura said. "I'm just going to keep myself busy until they get back, so if you need me I'll be at the hospital."

"Don't worry, he'll be back," Tsunade murmured. "He'll bring all of them back, like he's always done for you," she added. She held Sakura's gaze. "Be good to him Sakura," was all she said.

Sakura was shocked. "How-Why? What-," she sputtered and Tsunade let out a laugh.

"Sakura, I am the Hokage, I know everything, drunk or not," she said pointedly and started to work on the paperwork, laughing all the while. Shaking her head in bewilderment Sakura walked out.

On the way to the village she saw a small boy of about three tumble to the ground. He sat there on his knees with his bottom lip jutted out stubbornly as if he was refusing to cry. _'Kids grow up so quickly,'_ she thought as she walked towards him.

She crouched in front of him. "It's all right, I'll fix you," she told him and moved her hand to the large abrasion on his knee. Barely using any chakra she healed him in no time. "All better," she announced to him cheerfully.

"Is it all better, big sister," he asked, his voice trembling slightly.

She patted his now-healed knee. "Yes, you're all set now; just be more careful, okay?" she told him as she stood up. He just looked at the ground with a sullen look on his face. "What's wrong?" she asked him.

He reached out and furiously wiped a tear that had escaped from his eyes, "Nothing," he mumbled. But apparently the strain was too much for his young mind because he continued, "I can't go back to the play area because they'll call me a sissy again. They laughed at me when that mean cat Miss Kitty scratched me and I cried," he said all in one breath.

_'Why those little brats,'_ Sakura thought in indignation for the small boy. She tapped her chin thoughtfully; she couldn't solve this with violence since they were probably as little as him. She sighed, _'Well there's always this way,'_ she thought and bent down again to his level.

She leaned in and whispered in his ear, "Do you want to know a secret?" She continued when he nodded.

"Big brother Sasuke and Naruto cried when they were little, too," she informed him; all the kids in the village knew about them.

His eyes grew as wide as saucers. "They did?" he asked in disbelief.

She nodded her head matter-of-factly. "All the time."

"Really? But big brother Naruto is so big and strong," he told her with his arms outstretched.

Sakura looked at him in confusion but then she realized that all though Sasuke was something of a stoic dark horse, all the kids in the village worshiped Naruto. He was their hero and he always took the time to talk and play with them, much like the way she liked to volunteer at the hospital and keep the sick children company.

His eyes shined happily now as he scrambled to his feet. "I can't wait till I tell my friends. They won't call me a sissy no more."

Sakura held back a grin. _'Naruto and Sasuke may not appreciate that getting around,' _but aloud she said, "That's right. And tell them your big sister Sakura has your back."

He nodded enthusiastically. "Okay. All the kids are scared of you."

Sakura was taken aback, she didn't know that. "Why?" she asked.

"Because whenever you get angry you punch big brother Sasuke and Naruto, and you swing trees around like sticks," he said swinging his arms around wildly. "Nobody would want to mess with you."

Sakura got a smug look on her face. "That's right!"

The little boy was getting a little scared of the look on her face so he tried to creep away. "Okay, thanks big sister."

She looked back down at him and patted his head and smiled. "You're welcome."

He forgot that he was trying to escape when she smiled. She was so pretty, even prettier than his mommy. He couldn't help himself as he propelled his body forward to hug her. She was so soft, he thought, and snuggled closer. Sakura was trying to figure out a way to dislodge the boy when she heard a voice behind her.

"Cheating on Naruto already, huh?" It was Ino.

"Whatever," Sakura replied rolling her eyes.

"Naruto," the child said disgruntled. "I thought you like Sasuke."

A muscle ticked behind Sakura's eyes. Even the little kids thought she still liked Sasuke. "Who told you that?"

"My mommy and her friend were laughing when they said it."

Ino could practically see smoke shooting from Sakura's ears and, to divert a crisis, she pulled Sakura away. "Come on Sakura let's go." If Sakura felt provoked enough she would even let her temper get the best of her with a kid.

Thankfully Sakura let herself be led away and, once she was a safe distance away, fumed, "He said his mother was laughing. Laughing! Is it a village joke that I'm still pining after Sasuke?"

Ino gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. "I mean, you can't blame some of them. Sasuke's the only guy you've openly liked and you've haven't dated anyone since he came back." She paused. "Actually, until you told me about Naruto I still kind of thought you had a thing for Sasuke."

"My love life—"

"Or lack thereof," Ino quipped, for which Sakura shot her a dirty look before continuing.

"—is not anyone's business. And even if I did still like Sasuke I don't appreciate being the butt of every joke." She sighed in exasperation and then remembered something. "So what are you harassing me for anyways? Are you going to tell me anything or do I have to pry it out of you?"

Under her breath Ino muttered, "In my opinion you and Sasuke were made for each other." She didn't want to push her luck, so she said, "Yeah…I did want to tell you something. Yesterday Shikamaru finally had some time off so when he came to my place," she held her hand up in defense to Sakura's look. "No I didn't sleep with him. I took your advice and just kissed him and said I love you. It seemed like forever went by until he finally spoke and said 'so troublesome.'" She put a hand to her chest. "I felt the sharpest pain in my chest when I thought he was turning me down, but then he kissed me back!" She got this dreamy look on her face.

"Don't tell me what happened next," Sakura said dryly.

"It's not what you think. He pulled back, he actually pulled back and gave me this odd look and said, 'Goodnight Ino,' and left. It made me so happy when he left; it was so romantic."

Sakura snickered. "Most people would think the guy leaving is a bad sign on a date."

Ino swatted at Sakura, "Stop it. You know what that meant," she grinned again. "He wants to see me seriously."

"Did he actually say that?" Sakura asked in doubt.

"No, he didn't have to," she stated. "We've been teammates for years so we understand each other. Much like the way you and Naruto understand each other," she pointed out.

"I guess," Sakura murmured and felt a little sad. She couldn't wait until he came back. She was trying to sort through her feelings while he was gone on a mission but she wasn't going anywhere with that. She needed him here.

"Thinking about Naruto now," Ino perceived.

"Yeah," Sakura replied and kicked at a rock near her feet.

"Don't worry, he'll be back," her friend assured her.

Everyone kept saying that, they all had such hope and faith in him. "I know Ino. I just wish he would come back home sooner," she said wryly.

"I bet," Ino said giggling. "Waiting all these years has got you all frustrated and now you're taking it out on little kids."

"Shut up Ino-Pig, that is not what I meant," she growled.

"Sure Fore-Head, next time don't let him give you such a big obvious hickey."

Flushing Sakura covered the now fading mark. It was so embarrassing; she still couldn't believe she had told him to do that. Getting back at Ino she said, "Well now you'll get to know what it feels like with Shikamaru."

Ino paled. "O-oh no. Maybe we won't move that slow. We aren't virgins like a certain nineteen year old we know." And they kept bickering back and forth until they both ran out of insults and comebacks.

* * *

Several hundred miles away, Naruto and his team had finally located the base compound of the new Akatsuki group and were preparing for their next move.

"I say we move in and attack tonight since we have no idea how long they'll stay at that location," Naruto stated.

"We haven't been able to locate the leader yet," Sasuke put in.

His expression serious, Naruto said, "I know, but I'd rather take my chances now on these four than to wait for the leader to return with any more." He looked to Sasuke who nodded in agreement. "It should all go well unless the leader decides to return in mid-battle with his new recruits," he mentioned.

"It doesn't matter. I just want to completely erase all traces of the Akatsuki once and for all," Sasuke declared.

"Don't go in there with thoughts of revenge clouding your mind," Naruto warned. "I mean I want to eliminate them too for Konoha and all our fallen comrades, but I don't want this to be one of those battles where I lose my life in the process. I want-no I must make it back home no matter what. I've never broken a promise to Sakura and I don't want to start now."

Sasuke took that all in and said, "At least I can say that I've personally never botched a mission because of doing something stupid like say-day dreaming or falling asleep." He shot Naruto a pointed look.

Naruto chuckled. "Hey come on, we all make mistakes, and all the missions turn out okay, right?"

"If you say so," Sasuke responded and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "But you you don't need to worry on my end today."

Naruto nodded and briefly thought back on the circumstances that had Sasuke standing beside him on this mission today. Back when they were fifteen, Naruto had been given the assignment to take out the Akatsuki and intelligence had pinpointed the Akatsuki location and next move. Instead of going straight after them, he went and hunted down Sasuke and informed him that this would be his last opportunity to join him and kill Itachi. Naruto declared that if Sasuke didn't come back, he was going to kill Itachi himself out of loyalty to Konoha; but out of loyalty to his friend, he went to Sasuke first. They became bonded in spirit as brothers that day and Sasuke never again questioned Naruto's friendship the moment Itachi's dead body laid at his feet, dead by his own hands. He willingly returned to Konoha and turned himself in and, because of no outright acts of betrayal and on account of him helping eliminate the Akatsuki, he was put on probation for one year and qualified as a Jounin after taking the Chuunin exam.

Removing his thoughts from the past, Naruto nodded in satisfaction. "All right." He didn't hear any input from Kakashi, who was always eager to throw in his two cents, wanted or not. He looked his way and was instantly irritated when he saw the bright orange book in his former sensei's hand.

"Kakashi, what are you doing?" he shouted. "We're about to do a very important assignment and you're filling your mind with porn!"

Kakashi slowly lowered the book and gave Naruto a leveled look. "Sasuke has his personal reasons for wanting to accomplish this mission." Sasuke hmmped next to him. "You have someone you want to get back to." Naruto knew where this was going. "So why can't I have my only source of pleasure? I need a motivation to make it back alive so I can know what happens with Reiko in the next chapter."

"Fine," Naruto said warily, "but that's defeating the purpose if you read it now."

"What else could I do waiting for you two?" Kakashi shrugged.

They both shot him a dirty look; the nerve of him saying he was waiting. Kakashi then snapped his book closed and tucked it back in his jacket. "Okay, let's move."

Sasuke shielded his eyes from the sun as he looked out beyond their high perch on a mountaintop. "It'll take us roughly twenty to twenty-five minutes until we get there. They should still be at base."

Naruto got a predatory look on his face. "If not, we'll hunt them all down." That said, they instantly set off.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: A HUGE thank you to Coshie, my Super Beta.

Chapter 6

Five days later Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke dragged themselves through Konoha's gates. They immediately reported to Tsunade's office. She told them to enter and after giving them a quick once over, she said, "Give me a quick brief on the mission and then get yourselves checked in at the hospital."

Sasuke spoke first. "We killed the four Akatsuki members, and were preparing to leave when we were surprised attacked."

Tsunade leaned back in her seat and asked, "How did that happen? You should have known there was one more out there."

Naruto scratched his head. "The thing is, we did know, and um…we actually suspected that he would come after us in a surprise attack."

"But three to one must not have seemed like good odds to him because he fled," Kakashi put in.

"And he didn't leave one trace behind," Sasuke added.

"Most likely he's going around looking for new recruits, if he hasn't found anymore already," Naruto finished.

Tsunade nodded. "Okay, I'll take all of this into consideration. Go get healed, and I want you, Naruto, to fill out the official report."

"Hey, why me!" he objected. "You've been making me do all the mission reports lately."

"If you want to become Hokage, most of it is paperwork. Get used to it," she told him. "Why don't you ask Sakura to help you? Do you really think I do most of the paperwork in here?" She gestured to the mountains of paperwork and folders before her. "Besides," she continued, her eyes twinkling in mischief, "I don't think she'd mind."

Naruto was horrified to find his face turning red.

"I'm surprised to see you look so embarrassed. You should be prepared for some teasing after leaving such a big, obvious display of affection on her neck. She even thought she could hide it from me." She chuckled, shaking her head in amusement. She sat up straight. "But back to the current situation. I'm going to send out an intelligence team to keep an eye on things. I'm going to keep your mission schedule fairly light and standard until we have enough information to send you back out. That could take days, weeks, and even a few months. Whenever it happens I just want you three to be prepared." They all nodded reluctantly at the news. "You're dismissed," she abruptly informed them and waved them out her office.

When the door closed behind them Kakashi murmured, "Does she really think I'm going to the hospital-"

Right on cue Tsunade's voice came through the door. "If I don't receive a medic report today then I will suspend you from active duty, which means no missions," she paused and then added pointedly, "Kakashi."

"I don't know what's worse. A hospital visit or no missions? Decisions, decisions," Kakashi muttered.

Ignoring him, Naruto announced, "I'll just go find Sakura to heal me."

"Doctor and patient, huh," Kakashi said with a wistful look in his one eye. "Must be nice."

Sasuke glared at him and Naruto said, "You've read one too many Icha Icha books. That wasn't code for some role play game you pervert!" But he doubted any of what he said went through because Kakashi had already pulled out his book and was lost in one of his fantasies. After shaking his head at his former sensei's comment, he turned to Sasuke, who was walking away. "I'll see you later. I'm going to check and see if Sakura's still in her office."

"Whatever," Sasuke said, and continued walking in the opposite direction. Not wanting to waste time pondering over Sasuke's attitude, Naruto quickly went to look for Sakura.

Not far from the Hokage's building, Sakura was finishing tidying up her apartment when Naruto and his team had walked into Konoha. Satisfied with the lack of clutter and the way everything was organized she thought,'Now I can finally think straight without this mess.' Her thoughts suddenly went to Naruto; he wasn't a slob, but he wasn't neat either. She found herself constantly over there picking up after him. She sighed; no matter what she did or was thinking about, her mind would invariably think of him. _'Hmm, now that I think about it, the last time I was over his house his room was a mess. He should be home any day now, and he'll appreciate coming home to a clean house.' _With that in mind, she made her way to his house.

After being told that Sakura had already left for the day, Naruto ran to her house, but she wasn't home either. _'Where could she be?' _he wondered, and went searching through the entire village for her. After a half-hour of futile searching, he gave up. _'She's not on a mission,' _he thought morosely, _'and she's not any of the places she usually hangs out at.' _He gave a big yawn; he was exhausted and hadn't rested for the past thirty hours or so. He shrugged it off; oh well, he'd just tell Tsunade that Sakura checked him out, or that he was so overwhelmed by all the paperwork. He started heading to his place.

Sakura was picking Naruto's clothes off the floor and his bed when she felt before she heard someone enter the house. It was a familiar chakra source. "Naruto," she whispered and ran out the room.

Naruto looked stunned to see her. "I forgot to look at my house!" He noticed what she was doing. "Aw Sakura, you don't have to do that."

"I don't mind. I came to just tidy things up a bit so you would come home a clean house. I didn't know you were already here." She smiled softly at him.

Naruto stared at her transfixed. "I was looking all over the village for you. I didn't think to look here."

"This is something I always do." She gestured awkwardly with the clothes in her hands.

He grinned and began to walk towards her with a predatory gleam in his eyes. "Maybe…but this is the first time you've done it since – well, you know," he said suggestively.

She unconsciously took a step back and blushed. "I know, but I-," she broke off at a loss of words. She began to fidget nervously with his clothes.

Naruto closed the small gap between them and placed his hands on her hips that curved perfectly under his hand. She blinked up at him a few times before she closed her eyes as he slowly lowered his lips to hers. It was a soft gentle kiss that promised more. He pulled back after a brief moment and whispered, "I'm back."

"I know," she responded just as soft, with a shy smile. As a habit, she let her eyes slowly peruse his body and went from timid to stern medic. She dropped the clothes and exclaimed, "Look at you! You're a mess."

He grimaced; he had forgotten all about his injuries.

"I thought you would have more sense than to go walking around town before getting yourself healed up," she continued in a reprimanding tone.

"I told you I was looking for you," he tried to defend himself.

She merely gave a sharp look. "Am I the only medic in this village?"

"No – but – "

"So you could have seen anyone else," she started ranting. She started pulling off his Jounin vest. "I don't care if you heal faster than normal, you can't be reckless with your health, so I don't want to hear no more excuses."

"I only want you," he interjected.

She paused in her movements and jerked back to look up at him. He grabbed her with both hands by the shoulder. "I only want you in everything," he declared. "As my medic, as my teammate—" he almost said wife but he caught himself off in time; he wasn't trying to scare her, "as mine," he finished.

"Naruto," she exhaled his name with shock in her wide eyes.

He released her when he released how hard he was clenching her shoulders. He stepped back and turned around. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Yes, you did," she cut him off her voice soft.

Instead of objecting, he nodded. "Yes."

Her jade eyes gave him a reflective look. After a few moments had passed, she asked him, "Do you really mean that?"

He released the breath he was holding. "Will you please cut the crap Sakura? You know how I've felt about you all these years." He didn't know why all of a sudden the hidden bitter feelings he had hid were coming to the surface.

She was still giving him that odd expression that looked as if she was she trying to peer deep inside him. Then she surprised him by saying, "Okay…I'll be yours Naruto," she said, her voice clear.

"What!" he exclaimed.

She glared at him. "Don't make me say it again; it was embarrassing enough the first time."

"Hey," he objected, "you had no problem telling the world how much you loved Sasuke." _'Oops,' _he thought_, 'here it comes.'_

She didn't disappoint. She shot him a murderous look. "Well ex_cuse _me for really knowing I mean it this time." She walked past him. "Just when I think you're done with being childish," she announced in disgust.

_'Oh crap,' _he thought and grabbed and her arm. "Wait Sakura. I didn't mean—"

"Oh you meant that too," she declared, her eyes shooting daggers at him.

"B – but," he stammered, and started to panic. He didn't know how to fix this. He may have blown everything with his big mouth. He knew that was an insensitive thing to say.

She must have sensed the trail of his thoughts because she stopped in her tracks. "Don't worry," she murmured, not quite meeting his gaze. "I still mean what I said a moment ago."

The panicky pressure in his chest lifted as he was instantly flooded with relief.

"But I'm still mad at you," she continued and snatched her arm away. She started walking towards his door.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Can I not go get my medic bag?" she responded sarcastically.

"Oh," he said like an idiot. Then she gave him a big smile. He didn't think he would ever get used to Sakura's mood swings.

She gave him a contemplative look. "You know, Naruto," she started.

"What?" he asked suspiciously.

"You're kind of cute," she finished with a grin and walked out.

_'What the__ – __,' _he thought and went to flop down on his couch. He felt his eye start to twitch; he did not want to be cute to Sakura. _'I'll show her cute when she gets back.' _His thoughts of sweet revenge shortly vanished when he remembered her saying, _"I'll be yours Naruto." _He sighed and maneuvered his body until he was stretched out over the cushions. _'About time,' _he thought in satisfaction.

Outside Sakura started chuckling to herself. Naruto was sort of cute when he was being stupid. _'That's what he gets,' _she laughed to herself. She realized that she could handle the idiot goofy side of Naruto, which she thought was adorable, but she really had no idea how to handle the darker, more passionate side of him that was the furthest thing from "cute". One thing she knew for certain–he was an excellent kisser.

She walked to her house, where she still lived with her parents, and once there, quickly grabbed her medic bag that she normally carried everywhere. It contained her basic medical equipment along with some medication, tonics, herbs, and a couple of scrolls. It also contained an extra outfit in the event she ruined or soiled her outfit while healing, which happened often.

Halfway to Naruto's house she spotted Sasuke's dark form strolling down the street. "Sasuke," she called out. He acknowledged her with a nod and walked to meet her halfway. Once he was standing before her, she looked him up and down. "It looks like you listened and went to a medic, unless Naruto was the only one hurt," she teased.

He narrowed his eyes at her. _'Is she still flirting with me?' _He thought about all the innuendos Kakashi, Naruto, and even Tsunade had made in reference to Sakura and Naruto. If what they were saying was true, why was she still hitting on him?

His not replying to her teasing was normal so she continued. "I'm glad you came back safe and sound. Is Kakashi okay too? Naruto didn't mention about you two, I guess he just assumed I would already know you both were uninjured and okay," she commented dryly.

"Humph," he replied. "What are you doing now?"

"I'm just going to fix up Naruto. There probably won't even be a scratch on him when I return, but I want to make sure all those cuts and bruises he got are disinfected," she told him. Before he could say or anything else she added, "I better get going, and don't forget to meet us this Wednesday." She hastily went off.

Sasuke stared after her. _'Since when did she and Naruto become an "us"?' _This was happening all too fast for him and he didn't like the unfamiliar swirls of emotion conflicting inside him. He brushed them away. _'I don't have time for that nonsense.' _But he stared after her retreating form for a second more before he turned away and continued his way home.

When Sakura made it back to Naruto's house, she found him asleep on the couch. Her heart swarmed with empathy for him. He was sent on a highly classified mission, and instead of immediately finding relief and comfort he had sought her company. She stood in front of him, dropped her bag on the floor, and placed a gentle hand on his forehead.

"Wake up Naruto," she called out softly. His eyes fluttered open, revealing deep pools of blue.

"Sakura," he said and started to get up, but she put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"No, you can just stay down and relax," she told him. He listened, let his body go lax, and reclosed his eyes. She went to work efficiently, disinfecting the cuts, scrapes, and bruises that were still on his body. She knew for him to still to have any remains of a scar meant the original wound had to have been deep. There wasn't much for her to heal so she bent to rummage in her bag for an ointment for sore and aching muscles. Now this she knew he needed. He had on a simple black tank shirt so she went to work on his arms and shoulders first. She poured a good amount in her hands and when she touched her shoulders with the warm liquid, she heard him groan in pleasure.

"You should leave a bottle of that here," he muttered. Sakura was a miracle worker when it came to making new medicines and ointments.

"I could," she responded, "but it's more enjoyable when you have someone else apply it for you." When she realized how that could be taken she paused momentarily in her ministrations.

"You're right," he agreed with her so emphatically that she couldn't help but grin and continue her work. He went back to his near-sleep state. They continued like that for a while in silence, minus the few moans and groans Naruto would occasionally make.

After some time went by she said, "I need you to turn over and I'll do your back." He shot up eagerly and turned over. "I need you to remove your shirt, Naruto," she said dryly.

Grumbling under his breath that he was already comfortable, he briefly sat up and quickly tossed his shirt off. He had forgotten about the time she had just spent tidying his place up. He caught the look she shot him. "Don't worry, I'll get it up later," he placated her.

Whatever smart-aleck response she was about to say was cut off when she lost all her medic-professionalism and stared at his now bared muscled chest. She saw his chest all the time, _'So why am I making a big deal,'_ she wondered. _'But things are different now,' _a voice in her head whispered. Promising to appreciate her new admiration of Naruto without a shirt on later, she finished her current task. Less than an hour later he was bandaged, massaged, and ache free.

She prodded him awake and he stood up, stretched languidly, and gave a huge yawn.

Sakura smiled. "Even after all I've done, it seems like all your body needed was some regular sleep to recuperate."

"Wow Sakura. You had no idea how much I really needed that," he told her. He started rotating his shoulders and was amazed at how loose all his muscles were.

"You have been given a large amount of missions lately," she said in sudden realization. "And they're mostly very high in rank too."

He sighed. "Tsunade even has me doing all the official paperwork too. Keeps telling me to get used to it," he muttered.

She giggled. "I have no aspirations to become Hokage yet she still makes me do a lot of her paperwork."

"That's what she told us today," he admitted.

Sakura voluntarily wrapped her arms around his neck. "Promise when you become Hokage you won't treat your students like Tsunade does."

"I love that you really believe I'll become Hokage one day." Naruto placed his hands on her hips just as earlier.

She rolled her eyes. "I had to endure years of hearing you say you want to become Hokage. I've just accepted it as fact now. Just by being her apprentice, Tsunade tortured me, and still tortures me to this day. Since you're planning to be the next Hokage, expect things to be more difficult in the years to come as you prove to Konoha that you'll make the best leader for them. And believe me, Tsunade will not make it easy for you; but you'll get through it," she stated.

They stared a long look and the small distance between their faces grew even shorter. Under his intense gaze, Sakura felt her eyelashes flutter gently on her cheek as she felt his soft breath against her skin.

Naruto raised his hand up to tilt her head up a bit and used his thumb to delicately sweep across her full bottom lip. Her mouth opened slightly and warm, moist air drifted gently over his thumb.

She lifted her head up a little more, eagerly anticipating his kiss.

This was the day Naruto had always dreamed of: Sakura desiring for his touch. He doubted there was anything more beautiful than this–Sakura with her eyes closed, mouth parted, and her cheeks getting a soft rosy tint, and this was before he even kissed her. He wanted to see more so he angled his head till his lips were aligned with hers. He felt a tingling in the back of his throat, and despite attempting to hold it back, he let out a huge yawn.

Sakura's eyes snapped open at the sound, and she gave a soft laugh. "I think that's my cue to leave," she said, her voice not quite steady, and stepped back. "Tomorrow if you can talk about it, I want to know all the details about the mission. I didn't want to press for them today, so just be prepared for me tomorrow," she warned him. She had one last thing she wanted to ask him before she left. "Did you notice anything different about Sasuke?"

"Why?" he asked, keeping his tone neutral.

"I don't know," she said shrugging. "But something was odd. Maybe it's got something to do with this new Akatsuki or something," she reasoned.

"Or something," he repeated.

She hesitated again. "And in case you want to know, I get off my shift tomorrow around two p.m. Just in case you wanted to know," she repeated for emphasis, although in Naruto's case it wasn't necessary.

He nodded and stored that in his memory. _'Two pm; got it.'_

"So I guess I'll see you tomorrow," she finished awkwardly and after saying a final goodbye, left.

Once the door was closed behind her, he sat back down on his couch to meditate about the whole Sasuke situation. It was probably nothing, and Sasuke's weird attitude during the mission was common; he tended to get moody whenever it had anything to do with the Akatsuki. But for some reason, and he couldn't put his finger on why, he had a feeling it was something else. Only time would tell.

**AN: And this is the last chapter I posted before I went on my long hiatus. The next chapter is getting a much needed beta fixing so expect it soon. It's been a while since I wrote this story, and my writing style has changed, for the better tho I hope. Even though I'm following a strict outline I planned out years ago, while the story is the same, I'm worried that the tone is different. And apparently my next chapters want to be 5000+ words now. It'll be up soon.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: This is my newest chapter written this year. I think the writing has changed in these years. I hope so at least. But I hope the tone of the story doesn't change too much. IMPORTANT Author Note at bottom explaining why this is unbeta'd and how I'd like it to be :D**

* * *

Chapter 7

"Ahhh," her patient said obediently sticking out his tongue.

Sakura peered into his mouth, knowing she was taking an unusual amount of time, but she was trying to exhibit self-control. There was no reason for her to glance at the clock again. She knew when she looked it was going to be 1:52, because it had been 1:51 the 51st time she looked at the clock since it hit one o'clock.

"Today has just been a long day," she reasoned. _'Yes, that's it, I just can't wait until my shift ends because I'm tired.' _Inner Sakura smirked, and she gave her subconscious a swift punch that sent her flying thru the recesses of her mind before she said something about the real reason Sakura was anxious for 2 o'clock.

"Uhh Sakwah," her patient got out around the flat board pressing his tongue down. ""Is evything ahwight? Am ah sickh?"

Sakura pulled back guiltily. She couldn't stall in his mouth forever. Her traitorous eyes looked up at the clock. 1:53! She smiled in victory. _'Hah my trick worked. Just 7 more minutes to go now.'_

Her patient was looking at her like she was crazy now, so she put on her best doctor face. "Everything's fine Henzo. You're my last patient of the day so you just get a little extra attention."

He perked up at that and she restrained herself from rolling her eyes. _'Men, so easy to distract.'_

Looking one last time at the clock, she finished up her examination. At 1:59 she finished her last 2 tasks at breakneck speed.

She stepped back when she was done. "Again everything looks fine Henzo. One of the nurses will come in with your paperwork and you're free to go." After giving the dazed looking man one last dazzling smile she walked out the exam room.

She was trying to make it to her office to spruce herself up when she saw him rounding the corner. She smiled inwardly. She should have known he would have been early, it was technically going to be their first date. _'Wait__—__ date,' _her mind shrieked. '_Uh no it can't be a date just because I assume it's a date. I mean we kissed the night I cooked for him. He never actually asked me out. So what is this? Friend outing? What?' _her mind considered all this.

"Ah Sakura! I thought you were going to be stuck with a patient. Trying to get you out of the hospital is always a pain, and I didn't want to waste a minute on our first date," he announced once he reached her.

And at that her mind went at ease. She didn't even have to worry. This was Naruto. There would be no typical guy behavior of playing it cool, leaving her second guessing everything he said from what he really meant.

Outwardly she rolled her eyes. "You can't just assume it's a date," she huffed. "You have to ask me beforehand, what if I had took an extra shift?"

He grinned knowingly, and she knew she didn't fool him. It didn't matter, she knew he would get her. That's what she loved most about Naruto. Besides she was the one who told him what time she got off.

"I would have created a diversion and helped you escape or smooth-talked one of the nurses," he said smugly. The look of horror on his face that followed showed he realized how that sounded.

Sakura lifted one of her brows, "Really then? You would smooth-talk another woman before our_ date_?"

He cleared his throat and shifted guiltily. "It'd have been for a good cause. You know you're the only one for me. You don't have to be jealous," he pleaded.

At that she couldn't hold back her snort. "Don't worry Naruto I'm not jealous. I know all too well how you flirt your way into finding out my schedule." Naruto was the object of many a woman affection in Konoha, and she had to put up with a lot of her coworkers chatting about him, and using his words, his 'smooth talking" skills. "And actually how did you know what room I was working in?"

He put an arm around her shoulders and started steering her towards the exit. "A gentleman never kisses and tell."

She tried and failed to hide her smile. "Don't you feel even a little bit ashamed, Naruto? You just admitted to your girlfriend you flirt to other woman."

He faltered in his steps and looked at her in shock. "Girlfriend?!"

She paused too._ 'Oh no. What did I just say? Is that wrong? Ino is right, I'm so hopeless in these types of situations.'_ "Uh...well." _'Wait a minute,'_ she thought, _'Why am I acting so hopeless? Does he think I'd just let him kiss me and date me without being his girlfriend?'_ "Did I overestimate your intelligence by thinking you'd know that's what I meant when I said I'd be yours," she asked dryly.

He just kept looking at her and then his amazed look fell and he smiled. "No I knew exactly what you meant. I just never connected it, I suppose. That's right. Sakura is my girlfriend."

She decided he looked a little too pleased with himself, but since his face was reflecting what she felt inside, she decided to let it pass.

"Which means this _is _a date," he continued.

She sighed. He was equally the smartest and the most stupidest person she knew. "Yes, I guess so," she admitted reluctantly. "So if we're going to go eat ramen can we at least go to a different stand." She started to keep walking but when he didn't move with her, she looked over to him expectantly.

His eyes twinkled with mischief. "Ha! I knew you thought we were going to go eat ramen." He put a sorrowful look on his face. "You think I"m so unromantic I'd let our first date be a ramen stand."

"Yes," she responded without hesitation, "I do."

He grabbed his chest. "Ouch you wound me." Yanking her closer to his side he said, "For that I'm not telling you. It's a surprise."

"Oh no," she said fervently. "Oh no!" Naruto was full of surprises as a person and a ninja even when he didn't plan it. Now if he planned a surprise..all it lead to was-

"Don't worry it won't be a disaster." he finished for her.

She did her best to wipe the worried look off of her face. "Now Naruto I know you mean well with all of your surprises. But remember your surprise to Konohamaru for becoming a chuunin? And your surprise for Gaara when he visited that almost caused all of us to be buried alive," her voice rose with each declaration.

"Hey! They turned out alright in the end," he objected.

She stared at him. "Naruto, there are still people in therapy from you and Konohamaru's actions!"

"Yeah, yeah. But this is nothing like that. I guarantee you'll enjoy it. You doubt my Casanova skills?"

She sighed, and leaned into his side. "Fine Casanova, I'll trust you."

He squoze her again and started dragging her along. "Awesome!"

"I did just update my emergency contact info so I should be good," she said in all seriousness. But he was too excited to hear anything she just said. So she resigned herself to her fate.

On her way out the door she signaled one of her aides to sign her out and waved goodbye to everyone. She was puzzled as to why no one was looking at her and Naruto with interest. Gossipers and busy-bodies were legendary here and rivaled Ino's rumor mill. But then she realized that it was common for her to be seen with Naruto.

She bit her lip and shifted her gaze towards him. _'That means I get to have him to myself for awhile.'_ But then she got an image of Naruto standing on top of Hokage mountain declaring that Sakura Haruno was his girlfriend. She snickered.

He cocked his head down at her. "What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing," she shook her head. It was something that she wouldn't put pass Naruto of doing, so she definitely didn't want to implant the idea in his head.

"What? Keeping secrets from me already?" He pouted his bottom lip out.

She decided to cave in and tell him.. It wasn't because he looked adorable, but because no grown man should go around making faces like that she told herself. "Fine. If you must know I was just thinking of the ways that_ we_ could tell people we're dating." She purposely emphasized the we so that he would get the point it's something they should do together, not some crazy idea of his.

He looked thoughtfully at her. "Hmm...well when you told me you were my girlfriend, my first thought was to send out the postcards I purchased some years back. I always knew you would give into my charms."

"Oh really," she scoffed playing along with his joke. But then she breathed in relief. "Well actually that's not so bad."

"Ha ha, I bet you were thinking I was going to do something ridiculous like stand on top of the Hokage Mountain and tell everyone we're dating."

She smiled wryly. "Actually yes I was."

He threw back his head and laughed. "Oh that would have been priceless. Worth getting socked by you."

"As much as you like to rile me up Naruto, I think you like the abuse."

He shrugged in feign innocence. "I think you like to abuse. It's win-win."

That took her by surprise and she giggled. And then she whacked him with her arm.

"Ooof," he cried out. "But you can go easy on the love taps Sakura," he said rubbing his arm. She never pulled any punches.

She imitated his shrug. "Like you said it's win-win." She looked around and noticed they were going in the opposite way of her apartment. "Um—Naruto. Weren't we going to stop at my place first?"

"Huh," he asked confused. "Why'd you think that?"

She looked pointedly at herself. "I'm wearing work clothes! You should know that a woman likes to dress nice for a date, Mr. Casanova."

He still looked perplexed. "What are you talking about? You look like you always look."

Her eye ticked. "Not exactly what I want to hear, but exactly. You know? Brush my hair, lip-gloss, change my shoes. Like normal people do for dates." She was wearing a modest black skirt and a green shirt, something professional and comfortable enough for work.

He rolled his eyes. "Oh..all the extra girly things. You don't need all that stuff. You're naturally beautiful."

The casual way the words rolled off his tongue warmed her, but of course this being Naruto he always continued and ruined it.

"Unlike Sasuke. Did you know he actually spends fifteen minutes every morning doing his hair and moisturizing his face?! Fifteen minutes primping. I don't know what girls see in him." He shot her a look.

She raised a brow. "What are you looking at me like that for like I'm his fan girl? I know all too well how long he spends. It's actually sad that he spends more time than me and I'm the girl." She looked put out.

"Exactly," Naruto exclaimed. "You just wake up looking perfect. You roll out of the bed looking like a goddess."

She looked at him like he sprouted three heads. "Uh—Naruto? Have you picked up any strange new berries from the forest again? You're talking nonsense! You've seen what my hair does in the morning! Do you not remember all my rants growing up that it's unfair how beautiful you two look in the morning?"

He grinned, "Of course not. But I had to keep you distracted until we got to our destination."

"Naruto," she said in warning and looked up. "Why are we on the south side of Konoha. There's not much over here. Um-I just want to know one thing. Will there be anything jumping out at me? You know I don't react well to surprises." By not well she meant she attacked whatever came at her. It was instructed in Konoha Academy now to never suddenly approach Sakura-sensei without her knowledge. Poor Ruka.

"Nope! We're going to Fuyuama."

Sakura was taken aback. "Huh? How'd you get reservations there? It's like a four month reservation list."

"Oh yeah. The owner said I can come in anytime on the house. I just never got around to it," he said.

"Wow. Are you sure you can go anytime. I mean, have you at least called in." she asked.

He shook his head. "No, didn't think of that. I don't think it's necessary though. Oh look there it is."

Not too far north of them was a small red building with a wind and fire symbol on the glass. The place had only been here for just over a year and it was insanely popular. Apparently the owner was a famous chef from Wind Country and had taken up refuge here. Sakura had heard that the food was amazing but she rarely knew her schedule a week in advance so she never bothered making a reservation.

"How'd you get the owner to agree to that," she asked curious.

"Oh. I was on the mission in a Wind village and part of the team that went to stop a rogue rebellion and we rescued him and his daughter. He comes from a pure civilian line. His wife was killed during the fighting, and he said he couldn't live in his village anymore. I worked it out with Tsunade and he was allowed to come here andset up a restaurant," he told her.

He made it all sound so simple. But Sakura knew with Naruto it was anything but. It was not easy to gain citizenship to Konoha , so who knew what he had put at stake to bring him here. Naruto loved his Village with every fiber of his being, but he also loved everyone who needed to be saved, even if from themselves, like with Sasuke.

"You're the most amazing person I know Naruto," she said and she meant it. "Actually I think you're my favorite person in the world," she said and seemed surprised at it herself. But he was. Even without the new confusing feelings he was causing, he had been for quite some time.

They had reached the front door and paused to look at each other. It was becoming an almost embarrassing habit of theirs. After a moment she averted her gaze her cheeks slightly pink. "I mean that in a platonic way of course."

"Of course," he parroted not bothering to conceal the amusement in his voice. But then he dropped his arm from around her shoulder. She looked back at him and he reached down to grab her hand. "Let's go eat."

She looked down at their hands and nodded. He was really determined to not give her a moment to think was he? But she wrapped her fingers around his and walked in with him.

"Oh wow," she couldn't help but let fall out of her mouth. It was beautiful in here. She looked around in amazement. All she saw was several soft hues of blue and white. All the chair backs were designed to look a gust of wind. It shouldn't have been ergonomically possible but there were several people sitting in them. In fact she didn't see an empty seat left. The round tables were swirls of fire in red and orange.

"He decorated it after Wind and Fire Village," Sakura leaned in to whisper to Naruto. Oddly he had a somber look on his face.

"Did you know my Mother was from Wind Country?" he suddenly asked.

"I think I heard Tsunade remark about it. But...you can tell me about it," she squeezed his hand in encouragement.

He squeezed back and said, "Yeah. I know I can." But he said nothing more on the subject. She didn't press it. Naruto was so willing to listen to what was on other people's hearts but he rarely talked about his troubles unless it could help the person he was imparting it to. It was odd how he was very open with his emotions at times, yet not very forthcoming at others. He wanted everyone he loved to be happy, so he rarely put his concerns on them. Which meant any minute he was going to say something stupid.

"And also my father was the Third! It was a huge scandal. Who knew the old dog had it in him?" He waggled his brows.

"Really? I thought you told me your real father was Kakashi," she humored him.

"Nah, turned out he was lying to me. Didn't want to bring shame to the Third's great name."

Before she could retort to his crazy claims a girl in a blue and red uniform came up to them. "Hello, welcome to Fuyuama. What's the name on your reservation?"

"Uzumaki!" Naruto called out with his usual unnecessary enthusiasm.

The girl looked over the list. "There isn't any Uzu—oh wait!" She looked up in excitement and tossed her blonde hair over shoulder and gave Naruto a big smile. "The boss gave us special instructions for you. He said you're his VIP no reservation needed." She looked over at Sakura. "Is she with you?" Some of her zest seemed to fall.

Sakura looked at the girl, looked down at her hands, girl, hands. "No. I just grabbed his hand as he was walking in."

"Well, we're already booked for several months," the hostess said shooting her a dirty look. "And the boss gave special allowance for Uzumaki, not" she looked Sakura up and down, "you."

Naruto must have noticed Sakura's temper rising because he reached out with his other hand for hers so both of her hands were restrained. "I understand, but I can't part from her. Can't you make an allowance just this once? I think Amano-san told me I could bring plus one," he looked at the hostess with his pleading blue eyes.

Sakura hands balled into a fist under his and she was about to give the host a piece of her mind, or fist when they were interrupted by a cheery voice.

"Naruto!" They both looked up to see a middle-aged man with an enormous red chef on his head and a matching red apron.

"Amano-san!" Naruto cried out. Then they both did the lame man hug which Naruto always managed to make uncomfortable with his over enthusiastic straying hands but the man returned it with equal fervor.

_'Dear lord,'_ she thought, _'that almost explains why Naruto brought him here and the decorations in this place. He's just like him.' _

Amano turned to her with literally _sparkling_ light blue eyes. "Ah and who is this pretty young lady? Cheating on your future bride?"

Naruto coughed, "Um-well. Sakura is my girlfriend."

The man's face fell. "Naruto you disappoint me. You told me you were in love with this girl. And you'd never settle for anyone else. I believed in you because of the tales of your great love! You spent hours, _hours_ talking about her! And you just gave up and in to youthful passions."

_'No, he's worse,'_ she continued thinking. _'He must be a freak mixture of Naruto and Lee'_ She just barely contained her shudder.

Naruto coughed again, no way indiscreet to get the man to stop talking.

It amused Sakura seeing Naruto so uncomfortable so she put on her best hurt expression. "S-since when Naruto? I thought you loved me. You told me that I was the only one for you. Were those lies? Is that what you tell all the girls? Do you bring them all here too?"

Naruto scowled at her. "Now Sakura."

She rubbed her eyes at fake tears. "I was thinking of names for our future children. Sashimi, Ringo, Orenji," she named off random items.

Amano-san looked crestfallen. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way, innocent maiden. But better now than never. Youthful love is so hard these days." And he wiped away a _real _tear.

Naruto must have had enough because he exclaimed, "Amano-san! This _is _the girl I was talking about." He continued under his breath, "Can you not take a hint. I coughed. Coughed! That's code for stop talking."

Amano did a complete 180 and beamed again, this time his teeth matching his eye sparkle. "You did it Naruto! I'm so happy for you." He then suddenly put his head on Naruto shoulder and started sobbing out, "I can now believe in love again."

Naruto patted Amano awkwardly on his back. "There, there?"

After clearing his throat Amano straightened up. "Ahem. To celebrate the union of these two lovebirds tonight the meal is on the house. And after you eat you are free to use the upstairs apartment as a way to consummate your love," he said in ardor.

"This is our first date," Naruto managed to get out. At that point Sakura was incapable of saying anything.

Sakura had to blink to clear the bright lights shooting from Amano's eyes. "Ah! More special. Shall you need two nights then?"

Naruto was able to cope with surprises better than her, so he recovered quicker than her. It was never good to mess with Naruto, he was the self-proclaimed prank king of Konoha. He looked at her mischievously with matching Amano shine. "What you think Sakura? Is two enough?"

"No," she almost shouted.

Amano looked scandalized. "I forget the youth these days. Alright you can have it for a week."

"No that's not what I meant," she cried. "I mean we don't need the room. We don't need to be anywhere private for-" she fished for the word he used, "consummation." She didn't understand why Naruto laughed until Amano spoke.

Amano looked scandalized. "Erm. I am normally a very accepting man, but I don't think my customers are such."

She looked confused for a moment and then she turned beet red. "That's not what I meant. I meant— "

Naruto cut her off, "Sorry Amano-san. We'll behave. Sakura is just adventurous. I told you she was the best woman in the world."

The gleam in Amano's eyes made Sakura want to take a shower. "I really do see now." He snapped his fingers. "Come now. I shall be the one who leads you to your tables. You are my VIPs, anytime you two lovebirds want to come. And the room upstairs will always be free to you too."

"Thanks Amano-san, you're probably going to become my favorite restaurant in town."

Naruto looked at Sakura expectantly and she begrudgingly said, "-Thanks."

Amano sat them at a table near the bar. Somehow the place managed to go overboard without being tacky. And she was surprised to note the wind seats were actually comfortable and felt like she was sitting on a cloud. _'I guess a Naruto-Gai mix something like this is possible,'_ she thought upgrading his status to a more horrifying level.

"I'll give you two a moment," Amano announced and Sakura swore she saw actually wind gusts follow his as he departed.

"I bet you thought he was perfect for Konoha," Sakura muttered and turned to give Naruto a dark look.

"Isn't he? And so nice." He leaned back in his seat and got in his usual position of one arm behind his head. "I mean he offered us the room, anytime." Naruto waggled his brows.

Sakura snorted. "You're welcome to take him up on his offer." He actually had the nerve to look hopeful. "Alone," she added and his face fell.

He chuckled. "It'd be amazing if he was related to my Mother." He tilted his chair back to look up at the ceiling. "Apparently, the crazy gene is genetic."

"So you just got your Dad's looks huh? You sure Amano isn't your real Dad?" she giggled.

"Nah, my Dad was better looking," he surprised her by saying. "I can't wait till the day my face is chiseled next to his, and people will look up and go Wow, Konoha had some hot Hokage's."

"Hrm, yeah the the Third was hot," she commented.

He came back down and pointed at himself. "Hey-he's not as good-looking as me. The son has surpassed the father. Even that Fourth guy is going to pale in comparison to me."

"Uh-huh. That Fourth guy. Don't you have a shrine in your closet for him?" She raised her arms to lean on her hands and leaned towards him.

"Nah, I tossed it a few years back, and built one for you," he said. He reached out to grab a hand and smiled at her. "I guess all those animal sacrifices towards it worked."

She smiled back. "I guess so." He rubbed his thumb over her palm.

"I wonder if I make a few more you'll go up to that room with me," he grinned wickedly.

She snatched her hand back. "Is that all you think about?"

"Let's just say that in private you're safe, but I'll never view you the same in public again," he said seriously.

Despite herself Sakura found herself laughing with him. Their server then came up and Sakura realized they did nothing but practically stare into each other eyes and coo-coo at each other like idiots instead of picking something to eat.

"I'm sorry we're not ready yet. Can we get a few more minutes," Sakura asked.

"Sure," the server smiled, and actually winked at Naruto.

"One of your many paramours, huh," Sakura asked dryly.

"Still not even a little bit jealous," he asked.

She searched within herself. And then she searched deeper. Then deeper. After several minutes of honest soul-searching she answered, "Nope. I really am not."

"What about the hostess?"

"That wasn't jealously, that was pure murderous intent," she said with a smile on her face.

"So scary," Naruto shuddered.

"You know you love it. The whole win-win thing right." And then _she_ winked at him.

She took a sip of the water the server had left them while he gaped at her. "I think it's really fun to be dating you Casanova."

At that he looked up towards the second floor with a hopeful look on his face which made Sakura choke on her water. At his concerned expression she held up a hand to tell him that she was alright, she just needed a minute. This...she couldn't imagine this with Sasuke. Sasuke was the only other person she had ever felt for, so she could only compare to him. But she didn't think she could imagine this with anyone.

Continuing their roundabout conversation she commented, "You know I may think the Fourth is hot, but you're the one I like. You're the one I care for."

His eyes darkened and then she felt her chair being yanked towards him. She didn't even see him move! "Is that so?" He stoked his chin thoughtfully. "You like me and I like you. And we're on a date. I like where this is going. And you know where this is going right?"

"Not upstairs" she retorted.

He placed a hand under her chin. "No. I know you like an audience." Before she could object he cupped her face in his hands and pressed his lips to hers. She sighed into his mouth in contentment as he moved his lips slowly over hers. She opened her lips to let him in. She raised her hand to rest on his shoulder and he dragged one hand down to her waist and pulled her gently towards him. He deepened the kiss which made her breath quicken. It was overwhelming. His lips, his scent, his hands, just _Naruto._

She couldn't help but let a small moan form in her throat, and she felt Naruto smile against her.

"Gasp!" Someone said audibly.

"Holy crap!" Sakura shot up and pulled back. She looked up to see Amano. "Um-this isn't what it looks like."

He cleared his throat. "No worries. I can handle this with discretion." He reached in his pockets and pulled out a set of keys. He looked to his right and left, which oddly enough, no one was paying attention to them. "Go now while no one is watching."

Sakura found herself blushing again. "Sorry Amano-san. We haven't even ordered yet."

He nodded in understanding. "Oh of course." He slid the key on the table. "This is a spare. Keep it. The apartment is never occupied so use it whenever you want."

"Oh that isn't necessary— " she started but Naruto snatched the key up.

"Thanks Amano-san!"

Amano looked quite proud of himself. He sniffed. "Oh to be in love with a sexual appetite" He wiped his tears. "Excuse me it's too much for me." He flurried off.

When he left Sakura shot Naruto a dirty look. "Are you starting a key collection or something? I can't imagine what else you need the key for."

He grinned at her. "Hey, you never know. It could come in handy someday."

She wanted to responded with something witty, but then she remembered her reaction to him when he kissed her. So she just snorted and swirled her straw around.

"Let's just say for now say that's highly...improbable." She smiled secretly into her cup.

**AN: My beta is REALLY busy now and I understand because I know all to well about balancing school and work, etc but I'm not doing both now :) YAY! But I do need a new beta, at least for now. She was a perfect imagination beta and if you know that site it was for amazing betas where you had to pass a test to qualify. I have the next few chapters written I just need a critical eye other than my blind one looking over it. Thanks!**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Thanks to EmD23 for pointing out a SEVERELY grievous error on my part. I misspelled Uzumaki several times last chapter, something I should know better. Thanks so much! Also this is unbeta'd. I looked over it very carefully but this chapter sat on my computer for a month so I decided to just post it! Please forgive any errors you may find until I find a beta.**

**I got 10 reviews last chapter! You all rock :D **

**Chapter 8**

"Believe it! Believe it! Believe it!" Smash!

Sakura groaned and turned over in her bed. That was the eighth alarm clock she had destroyed. Naruto had given it to her as a gift a few months back when she told him she had accidentally slept thru her old alarm clock, and he had been nice enough to go and buy one that would "definitely wake you up."

She didn't want to let him know that she broke it, so each time she destroyed it she went to replace it. She rolled over onto her back and sighed. It would make sense to just not use it, but truthfully she needed it on the nights she knew she wasn't going to get much sleep. And Naruto had kept her up all night, all freaking night.

She laughed softly to herself. But it had been worth it. Even when Amano-san had decided to serenade them, it was fun. Naruto claimed that the black eye she gave him for him pretending to drag her upstairs to the room was worth it as well. She looked over at her clock. It was time to get up. But she wanted to spend a few more moments thinking about last night.

At first she thought it was little awkward her relationship transition with Naruto, but then in a surprisingly short time, it just felt natural. It felt like nothing changed in their relationship, but everything too at the same time. They always joked around, but now they were flirting. Naruto was always trying to get into her pants, but now she was letting him. Uh..figuratively speaking of course. She knew she wasn't ready for that yet. She was older than most girls who had already had sex, but that meant nothing to her. It had to mean something.

_'I don't know if I am going to sleep with Naruto, but I trust him.'_ She had a feeling that he wouldn't do anything she wasn't comfortable with. Than she furrowed her brows. She was getting kinda comfortable with a lot though. They hadn't gone any further than the day he kissed her in that alley and left his mark on her. She blushed in the privacy of her room at that. Then she thought back to when he dropped her off last night.

* * *

_They had walked hand in hand the entire way to her home. When he got to her door he put a hand on her doorknob before she could turn it. She turned around until she was leaning on her door facing him. "I have to go to bed at some point Naruto. We stayed three hours after the restaurant closed. I let you "accidentally" take the long way home, where we literally passed the exact same areas every time. Besides you don't want to wake Papa Haruno do you?"_

"_I'm a shinobi. They'll never detect me," he responded._

_She raised her brows. "A Father's sense is better than a shinobis. Believe me I know," she muttered._

"_Papa Haruno doesn't scare me. He loves me." Naruto waved it off. It was true though. Her parents thought Naruto was the most precious innocent thing, and they were so happy when she got over Sasuke. Her mother was always dropping hints about that "Sweet Uzumaki boy who dotes on you." _

"_I know," Sakura said in disgust. "But even so he won't love you putting the moves on his daughter in front of his house."_

"_Hey your parents think I'm so reformed from my wicked childhood ways," he grinned. He leaned in closer to her. "Besides all I want to do is kiss you goodnight."_

* * *

Sakura raised a finger to trace over her lips. And kiss her goodnight he did. She looked at the clock again and with one final groan rolled out of the bed. She could finish day dreaming about him on her way to work.

She walked to the hall bathroom and cringed when she saw her reflection. Her hair was a hot mess as per norm in the morning. She kept it just under her shoulders these days and it was easier to manage than when her hair was longer but it still looked like she had partied hard all night when she slept. Realizing she was wasting a lot of time this morning she quickly showered and dressed.

Normally she just ran a quick brush through it, but today she took her time and made sure it was all flouncy and all. She looked into the mirror and scowled. All that extra special brushing and her hair still looked the same. She refused to believe Ino's it "all makes a difference on some subconscious level."

'_Why am I caring now?'_ She wondered. _'I said that I was never going to change something for a guy again after I let my hair grow long for Sasuke, so I shouldn't be worried about this for Naruto.'_ But Naruto didn't really care about all these things. _'Well neither did Sasuke,' _her mind added, which was true. So why was it different?

She rummaged around in one of the sink drawers and found a lip gloss. It was a nude pink shine and she brushed it on her lips. She then found a mascara and applied a few coats. She looked at herself and fluttered her lashes. _'Even though I don't have a lot on, I may get Naruto to be speechless for once if he sees me with actual makeup on,'_ she thought and giggled. And then it hit her. That was it. She wasn't doing this to get Naruto's attention or please him in the wrong way, or because he even wanted it. _She_ wanted to do this for him. Was that slight difference all that mattered?

She sighed. _'I'm not going to worry about these little things right now.' _She went back to her room and grabbed her bag. She lived in a two-story house and her parents let her have the upstairs which had two bedrooms and a bath. Her parents supported her in everything she did and let her have the extra room for an office and storage place for all her research. Sometimes she wondered how was she so privileged. She had great parents, a great sensei, position, and now Naruto. Though they had their differences then and even now, in an indirect way Sakura owed it to Sasuke for how she appreciated everything now. She had so much and it was not that she took it for granted, she just never realized exactly how _much_ she had. And even when things seemed bad, they always worked out, or Naruto found a way to fix it. He always found a way.

She touched her lips again. It wasn't just physical what she felt for Naruto. Her body had just naturally responded to him since it was so in tune with him as his team mate and friend for years. But it seemed like her heart was starting to catch up.

_'I wonder how he would react if I showed up wherever he's at and tell him I smooth-talked my way to him,' _she mused. "Actually where is he at?" she wondered out loud. No sooner had the words left her mouth when she heard, unmistakably his voice shout:

"Saaakuuraa!"

She sighed and walked out to stand at the top of the stairs. "Naruto didn't I tell you to not yell in my parents house, it's disrespectful," she shouted.

"Sorry, sorry," he apologized and took the stairs two at a time. "I just wanted to warn you I was here in case I came up here and you were undressed."

She was surprised. "Really? I thought you would just walk right in."

"Well I would have, but I was warning you first. My intention was to get here either before you changed or during, but I saw Chouji on the way here and I talked to him for a bit," he told her without any shame.

She shook her head sadly. "Those years with Jiraiya forever perverted and tainted you. If only my parents knew how you really were."

"How I really am?" he put a confused look on his face. "I came to walk my Sakura to work this morning. I have several tasks to do, but I said I can always make time for you." She looked at him blankly.

Then she noticed her parents presence at the bottom of the stairs and she narrowed her eyes at him. He must have sensed them coming before her since she was so used to them she rarely noticed them.

"Oh, Naruto is the sweetest boyfriend in the world Sakura. I'm so happy for you two," her mother gushed.

"You told my parents," Sakura asked in disbelief. Naruto started to look genuinely worried.

He raised his hands up. "No-no. I didn't say anything. I was going to let you tell them. I'd never do something like that."

She rolled her eyes. There was no getting anything out of him when he was like this in front of her parents. He was the stupid Golden Child.

"No, Sakura." Her mother giggled. "It was the hickeys that told us. Also it was the ten minute make-out session you had on our porch last night."

Naruto paled and started sweating. "Uhh-see, Mom, Dad. I'm sorry, I was overcome by weakness. I'll behave in the future."

They were surprised at her father's snort when he went to stand next to his wife. "Suuure, son. We believe you." He shared an amused look with his wife. "As long as our Sakura remains unpregnant until she's married we'll believe you," he said with a smile on his face, but the threat was clear. Sakura pregnant equals a fatherless child.

Naruto laughed weakly. "Yes sir," was all he could manage out.

"Great!" Her Dad clapped his hands. "We want to make sure you become a future Hokage." Her parents believed in Naruto, so she wasn't surprised that they were taking it well. Naruto still looked poleaxed.

"Sakura honey, aren't you running a little behind this morning," her mother asked.

"Yeah," Sakura responded. "But I was just enjoying the show." She grinned at Naruto.

He recovered slightly to his normal "act." "I felt so bad for keeping her out late, I just wanted to make sure she made it work on time. So we really should leave now." Not waiting for her response he grabbed Sakura's hand and dragged her down the stairs.

"Bye Mom and Dad," he called out leaving a trail of smoke in his haste.

Once they were several blocks away Sakura pulled on Naruto's hand. "You can slow down now. I don't think you have to worry about my Father coming after you with a butcher knife. He just gave you his approval."

He shuddered. "You didn't see the murderous intent in his eyes. It'll haunt me more than the gleam Orochimaru gets around little boys."

Sakura giggled. "Oh come on. He said as long as I don't get pregnant. Which-wait," she exclaimed in indignation. "Did my parents just give their approval for me to have sex?!"

That stopped Naruto in his tracks. "Hey, you're right." He grinned. "I'm only in danger if you get pregnant. That means we can still have fun."

"Exactly Naruto. You just don't get it. My parents just gave me approval to have sex. That makes it weird." She still looked disgruntled.

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Really? Hmm, not for me."

"Of course not you." She rolled her eyes and kept walking. "Come on, let's go. This walk can serve two purposes. We'll pass enough people to see us holding hands, and knowing you you'll try to cop some feels along the way."

Naruto laughed. "And what's the other reason?"

She smiled up at him. "The other reason is I get to spend time with you." She tightened her fingers around him. "We're both so busy these days, and I normally only see you a little bit each week. The only day we both typically keep free is Wednesdays but I don't want to change that do you?"

"No," he responded after a moment. "We're all kinda heading in different directions goal wise, so it's doubtful the three of us will be a team again unless for special missions, so I don't want to change that. As much as Sasuke likes to be emo about hanging with us, he wouldn't show up week after week if he didn't want to."

Sakura nodded in amused agreement. "Remember when we both had missions at the last-minute and we didn't tell him? We had to put up with his crankiness for an entire week."

"We're his only friends, and he's all angsty with us. An even more emo Sasuke can not be good," Naruto continued. "Why do we put up with him?"

"More like why do I put up with you two?"

Sakura and Naruto turned around and saw Sasuke. Naruto put a fake shocked look on his face. "Oh no Sakura. He overheard us talking about him. Maybe now he'll stop stalking us."

"So says the guy who was hiding in my closet for hours," Sasuke muttered in reply.

Intrigued Sakura asked, "Huh? When was this?"

Naruto shot Sasuke a dirty look. "I was trying to pull a prank on him, and he took so long to get back I fell asleep."

"Idiot," Sasuke said but then he looked at them and at their hands which were clasped together. "What are you two up to anyways?"

Sakura bit back a smile. Sasuke always hated when people were prying him for information but he was a nosy person himself. That reminded her of Naruto's earlier comment. With Sasuke's affinity for snooping and discovering information he was suited for intel and covert missions. A stark contrast with Naruto but that was what made them so well matched in the team they were in now.

Naruto answered, "I'm just walking Sakura to work."

Sasuke appeared to take all that in. Sakura could tell he was curious and was trying hard to restrain himself but then we wound up asking. "Why are you holding hands?"

Naruto shot Sakura a look as if to say, _'And I'm supposed to be the dense one.'_ But he knew that Sasuke was a clueless idiot to romance so it would have to be spelled out for him.

"We're going out now," he said simply.

Looking confused Sasuke now asked, "Why?"

Naruto cleared his throat. "Now Sasuke me and you were both there for mandatory sex ed. You see when a man and a woman-"

Sakura cut him off with a fist. "Shush Naruto." She took a deep breath and released it. "It just happened. We're dating now."

"We've already gone through many trials," Naruto said dramatically clenching his other hand to his chest. "Her father threatened me bodily harm this morning."

"You would have loved it Sasuke. It was priceless," Sakura told him.

He looked back and forth between them. He was starting to get a headache. "Hn," was he all could say to that. "I was looking for your Naruto so we could go over plans for our current assignment."

"Always so business." Naruto looked morosely at Sakura. "Will you be able to make it the hospital on your own?"

"I'll try." She pouted good-naturedly.

"Maybe we can try your plan later, okay?" he asked.

"Plan?" nosy ninja of few words asked.

"Sakura wants to find a way to let everyone know we're dating. She thinks I'm going to do something crazy." He shot a sideways look at her.

"Like shout it from the Hokage mountains?" Sasuke questioned and Sakura laughed.

"Hey! Am I that predictable?"

"No," Sakura shook her head. "The fact that that's predictable makes your most likely action something unpredictable horrifying."

"Our date turned out well didn't it," he asked.

"Suuuure," she drawled out. "As well as something with you can go."

"Are you two done?" Sasuke asked abruptly and they looked at him in shock.

Sakura looked at Naruto and he just shrugged. "I guess." Naruto smiled wryly. "I'll let you go now," he said and released her hand. But before he let her walk off he pulled her into a hug. "I'll try to catch you when you shift ends, and if not I'll charm my way to finding you later."

She smiled softly. "I'm sure you will." She waved at both of them. "See you two later."

Naruto watched her walk off and then he turned to Sasuke. "You sure are a mood killer. And it was going so well!"

Sasuke didn't show any type of reaction. "We have more important things than that to worry about."

"No Sasuke. _You _have more important things to worry about. To me, Konoha is everything so it's safety is a priority for me. But when it comes down to the details Sakura is more important to me than other _things_. And that is never going to change," he told Sasuke.

Sasuke looked away, he didn't have a response for that, and for some reason he didn't want to think about it. "Whatever. Let's just get to work."

Naruto sighed. Sometimes Sasuke was so difficult, and for reason he was being unreasonably obtuse today. "Fine. But you have to put up with me talking about me and Sakura _alll _day." Sometimes Naruto took secret pleasure in living up to being one of the most annoying ninjas.

* * *

In her office at the hospital Sakura was looking over some files for a new procedure she was contemplating doing. It was minimally invasive but anything she did on shinobis she took special care because she knew even the slight alteration took time for the ninja to adjust to and adapt in their fighting.

She propped her chin in her palm and sighed. She loved working in the hospital but sometimes being cooped up all day drove her a little insane. As much as she liked to heal, she liked to tear down, quite literally too.

Like she wanted to sock Sasuke. She knew she was being childish about it, but she genuinely wanted to spend time with Naruto this morning. Until Sasuke appeared with his more so than usual stick up his- She snickered cutting herself off in mid-thought. But he was was acting a little odd lately, even more than he normally did.

_'Whatever,' _she thought. _'I'm not going to waste my time thinking about him.' _But then she sighed. She did like to bad mouth him, but only to Ino and Naruto, because she didn't want the villagers to see him in a bad light; It had taken him awhile for him to gain their trust back. But as much as she liked to talk about him, she still had affection for him. Definitely not romantic, but she looked after him. _'This whole Akatsuki thing is probably just stressing him out,' _she reasoned again. _'It could be that, and also his inability to understand romance._' She snickered again. His dumbfounded expression made her feel pity for anyone who had the misfortune of being the object of his affection.

She swiveled in her chair in absent thought._ 'Actually I don't think he's capable of love like that.' _She was the only female he even let get close to him, and looked how great that went for her. She smiled to herself. It really did go great for her that it didn't work out. A knock sounded on her door and she looked up.

"Come in," she called out. It was probably one of the nurses with more paperwork. Or Tsunade sending some one of her aides to send in some paperwork she was too drunk and/or lazy to fill them out herself.

She looked up to see Ino at the door. "Ino! I didn't know you were coming in today." Although Ino had some medic and med-nin skills she was primarily an on field kunoichi. But she did sign up to take a few days at the Hospital a month.

"I didn't. But there's really only a few places to find you in the village when you're not on a mission. Home, working in that spare room that should be used like a walk-in closet if I had that benefit, and not an office. Or the hospital, either working on patients or working in your office, and most times even on your break," Ino told her.

"Glad to know I'm so predictable," Sakura grumbled.

Ino closed the door behind her and grinned. "Well that was before you stopped in your spinster ways and got with Naruto. Maybe we can add to the list getting it on with Naruto in his bed," she said suggestively.

"I'm surrounded by perverts," Sakura said in sudden realization. "We just started dating and my parents and even strangers are talking about sex with us!"

"There are plenty of people who'd kill to be in your shoes. Naruto is a legendary sex god," Ino chortled.

Sakura was surprised. "What?! Where did you hear that from?"

Ino was still giggling. "I'm just kidding Sakura. You don't have to go and kill some unfortunate girl. That's just talk. I've never actual heard about him being with someone." She looked contemplative. "Now that I think about it. I've never seen him date anyone. He's a notorious flirt-"

"So I've heard...and seen," Sakura interjected.

"-But he never goes beyond that. And from what I hear from the rumor mills-"

"-That you contribute greatly to" Sakura couldn't help but point out.

As expected Ino ignored her again. "-He never takes up any girls on the many offers he gets. And with that body he gets tons of woman practically tossing their panties in his face."

"What lovely imagery, Ino," Sakura said wryly. "And what's the point of all this? That I'm supposed to be grateful to have a great guy like Naruto. I have should have seen it before-yada yada yah. I realize all this."

Ino huffed. "You're not getting the point Sakura! Who cares about all that? The point is you do realize it now. Besides you both have a great catch. Don't sell yourself short. He should be thankful that you didn't punch him when he pulled that first move on you."

Sakura furrowed her brow. "Waait. You're right about that Ino. He had some nerve kissing me like that."

Ino crossed her arms and smirked. "You forfeited all rights to be angry when you responded _right_ away Sakura."

Sakura chuckled. "I suppose you're right. Too bad you'll never know how great a kisser he is. That belongs to me."

"That was my point Sakura! Before you went and sidetracked me. Don't you get it? Naruto just flirts with girls for fun. He never goes beyond that."

Sakura just looked at her slightly confused. "Okaay. I already know that. He even admitted to flirting with all the nurses here to find me."

Ino looked amused. "Aww he even flirts for you. Sakura what I'm saying is Naruto is probably a virgin too as crazy as that seems. He only has eyes for you. But he's still a man and all men think about and want is sex. It was probably sexual frustration that prompted his move." Ino laughed.

"We don't know if that is true or not," Sakura said. "And if so," she couldn't keep the joy out of her voice if she tried. "It doesn't change the fact that everywhere we turn I'm putting up with innuendos every minute."

"It could be the universe way of trying to get you laid. Why do you fight it," Ino asked. "Just give in to your passions."

Sakura rolled her eyes."I know you're an expert on giving into the universe Ino. But this thing with me and Naruto,I have no idea if we're taking it slow or fast. It just feel like it's right," she said. "Who knows when I'll be ready for sex. Maybe a year from now, maybe tomorrow. I just like the way things are going between us."

Ino made a sad face. "Poor Naruto. He's going to be blue for up to a year. I pity him." She moved to prop her butt on the edge of Sakura's desk. "And by blue I mean– "

Sakura cut her off. "I know what you mean." Than she quirked a brow at Ino. "What was it you came in for anyways? I'm mostly certain, but I never know with you, that you didn't come here to convince me to get laid."

At that Ino grinned and pulled something out of the pouch she had strapped on. "It's funny you mention that Sakura. I wasn't trying to convince you per se, but I just wanted to make sure you were prepared." She dropped a book on the desk.

After her eyes glanced at the title Sakura found herself turning pink. "I – hate – you," she got out. It was a red book titled "How to Satisfy Your Shinobi Lover-A Guide for Kunoichi's."

"Hey, regardless of when you do it, this book is invaluable," Ino laughed.

"Knock-knock!," a too familiar and inconveniently timed voice called from the door. Sakura wasn't surprised when a shock of blonde hair peeked its way in. Naruto never bothered to wait for a "come in."

Ino hopped off the desk when Naruto stepped in. "I guess that's my cue to leave. I'll leave you two lovebirds." When she got near Naruto she slapped him on the shoulder. "I think you'll enjoy the gift I gave Sakura too." She winked and was gone.

He shook his head in bafflement. He did not get other women sometimes he thought, until he saw Sakura trying to sneak something out of his sight.

"Oh is that what she was talking about." He approached her desk and snatched the book right out of her hand.

"Naruto," Sakura said threateningly and stood up to lean over her desk but he spun out of reach.

She could see his lips mouthing the words of the title. And then he laughed in delight. "I take back everything I said about Ino in the past. She's a great friend." He flipped to the table of contents and laughed again.

"_Chakra–learning the balance between giving pleasure and pain." "How to match-and even exceed his stamina all night long." "Wielding a shuriken in a bedroom."_

He walked back towards her and said, "Oh here's my favorite one "Kage Bushin Lovin'".

Sakura snatched it back out of his hands. "In your dreams maybe."

Naruto got a dazed look on his face. "Nah not maybe, it was definitely in a dream." Sakura huffed but despite her protest she slipped the book in her desk, and not in the trash can beside her desk which was telling.

They were both facing each other with a desk separating them. "The dreams are nice–very nice. But I still prefer this." He reached out to grab just beneath the collar of her white lab jacket and pulled her slightly to him while he leaned in. He cupped the back of her neck and kissed her softly.

She smiled against his lips. "Surprising me at work every day for a kiss? I can get used to this."

He moved his hand from her collar to trace his a finger over her lips. "I'll never get used to this," he murmured.

"Than maybe you'll have to come everyday to prove me wrong," she told him.

He gave her another quick kiss. "Naruto Uzumaki has never turned down a challenge," he declared and then he pulled back.

"Was that all you came for?" she narrowed her eyes at him.

He shifted in apprehension. "Now Sakura don't look at me like that. I just came to check on you."

"Uh-huh," she said unconvinced. "Well I'm fine." He opened his mouth but she cut him off. "And I don't have time to go eat somewhere. I'll eat when I go home. I want to get all this paperwork done."

"I bet you didn't even eat lunch," he told her.

Now she looked guilty. "Noo...but I will eat later. I just want to get this done so I won't have to do it tomorrow and have more free time."

"That's a lie! You just want more time to see more patients. You're a chronic workaholic!" he accused her.

She leaned back over her desk to glare daggers at him. "I don't want to hear this from the grown man who's always whining to Tsunade _"Oh pretty please Tsunade. Pleeeasssse! Give me anything. C rank. Even D rank. I wanna mission,"_ she said in an over-exaggerated baby voice.

He bent so they were eye to eye. "But you're the one who's working even though you're off-duty."

She flushed and he knew he had her. "How do you know that," she grumbled.

"You wouldn't be chatting with Ino or me if you were. You turn into S-Rank evil when you're disturbed when you're working. I know you remember when you assaulted the new aid-"

"I remember," she bit out. "You don't have to remind me. What do you want?"

"I just want to take you to eat something, and then I'll let you get back to work," he offered. She still had that stubborn glint in her eyes he knew all too well. He had to up the ante. "We can go get Hibachi, and I'll treat."

He could tell she was wavering because she started nibbling on her bottom lip as in thought. His started at it mesmerized, and when a peek of her pink tongue showed he couldn't resist tilting his head in for a brief kiss. "And I'll get to kiss you good-bye," he finished with.

Sakura cleared her throat and shifted her gaze away flustered in a way that Naruto thought was absolutely adorable. Than she finally sighed out, "Fiiiine. I'll go eat. But then I don't want to hear you complain about me working for at least a week. Got it?"

"Sure," he lied. And when she rolled her eyes he knew she didn't believe him. But he didn't care because he got her to cave in. Much quicker than any other time they argued over her over-working.

She took off her lab jacket and tossed in her chair. Than she moved around to stand by Naruto. "Don't think you can always kiss me into getting your way. Got that too?" she asked and poked him in his stomach with a sharp finger.

He winced and rubbed the spot she jabbed. "You're just mad I found a new secret weapon against you."

She hmmped. "Don't get full of yourself. I just realized that I was hungry. And that it was the quickest way to get rid of you."

Now that there were no barriers between them he slid an arm around her waist and pulled her against his side. "You should know by now there's no getting rid of me." He tightened his hold on her. "And now that you're mine, there's no way I'm letting you go."

She titled her head to smile up at him. And then she giggled. "Did you practice that line before you came here?"

He gave a long-suffering sigh. "Woman," he said with a shake of his head. "You all just don't appreciate a good romantic guy. You all want the brooding jerks."

Sakura heaved a sigh too. "Yeah. But I guess you'll have to do Naruto." She put a sad face on.

Naruto used his free hand to gently flick her large forehead. "Brat," he muttered.

Sakura only laughed and wrapped her arm around his middle. "We better hurry. The more time we waste the less time we have to make out later."

He grinned down at her. "Believe me. I'll make sure we have time for that." Laughing they both walked out of her office and headed out to eat.

Sakura started talking about her day and Naruto just looked down at her while she chattered. He had said that line, knowing she would get a kick out of it, but line or not, he meant it. He would let nothing tear them about now that he had her. Nothing.

**AN: Coming up...I think Sakura has come to terms with testing out her feelings with Naruto so time for things to move along! Bring on the drama! **


End file.
